Magnetism
by Mirime Kisarrastine
Summary: "He was an Iron Dragon Slayer and she was a natural magnet. That was the only explanation." Gajeel/Levy. It started as a rescue mission and snowballed from there. How far? As far as the raven flies... UPDATED!
1. Of rescues and virginal sacrifices

The promised Gajeel/Levy multi-chapter fic. It takes place during the Oracion Seis arc and depending on the development in the manga might continue into other arcs as well. I really hope I'll do those two characters justice. Rated for language and violence.

**Disclaimer:** Characters? Mashima's. Money? None. Plot? All mine. Enjoy :D

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Of rescues and virginal sacrifices (_where Gajeel is a reluctant saviour and Levy is too nice for her own good_)

* * *

"Master! Master Makarov!"

Mirajane was clearly distraught. She was clutching a large book with one hand and waving a piece of paper with the other.

"Calm down, Mira-chan," Makarov told her as he contemplated his next step. He finally moved one piece ahead and then looked at the transformation expert. "What is the problem?"

"We received an update for a mission that had been already taken."

"So?" Makarov didn't see a problem with that.

"So, the update makes that mission S-class one."

Makarov took a quick breath. Now, that was a problem.

"Who took that mission?"

"The Shadow Gear."

Levy, Jet and Droy in other words. Good, capable mages, all three of them but none up to par to take an S-class request, not even together.

"Tell me more about it," he asked, already taking a mental inventory of all mages who could be send as back-up.

"The request came from the Sakura town. It lies rather deep in the mainland but it's situated on the crossroads so it's quite prosperous. There has been a series of disappearances recently and they asked for a mage investigation. They had a similar case several years ago and it turned out that the culprit was a succubus demon. Since the cases had so much in common, they thought it was another demon."

That would explain the lower ranking of the mission. A single smaller demon could be dealt with by a competent mage or a team of them easily so it was not so difficult as to get an S-ranking.

"What is the new info?"

"It turns out that the one responsible for those disappearances this time around is Kain Jebel and Approaching End."

Now those news were downright disturbing. Kain Jebel was a leader of a religious sect Approaching End which believed that the end of the world was coming soon and that to be saved at the end, one must regret their evil deeds, to repent and to give up everything. It wouldn't be that bad, there were many religions and sects with similar themes of atoning but Approaching End took it to the extreme. Even those who weren't members of the sect could be saved. In that case they must have been ritually sacrificed.

The group had been chased by mages all over the continent and they lost a lot of members but the leader was yet to be caught.

"How reliable is that information?" Makarov asked tightly.

"It comes directly from the Council. They have been monitoring the situation carefully and they believe only Jebel and his most devoted followers remain. About twenty people."

Twenty people. And about half of them mages. That was the worst about this sect. Kain Jebel was a former S-class mage who had gone insane. That was the reason why he set up the sect. He had delusions of grandeur of the worst kind, thinking himself a saviour of the world. He had killed several mages before he had defected from his guild and from then on, his crimes kept on piling up. And Shadow Gear went right into his lair without suspecting anything. Makarov clenched his fists. They were as good as dead if left without any help.

"Master?" Mirajane asked. "Who will we send to help?"

It had to be an S-class mage, anyone weaker would be just a plaything for Jebel.

"Erza, Natsu and Gray have gone to fight Oracion Seis, Mistgun has made himself scarce since the Fantasia Festival, the Raijinshuu and Juvia-chan are all on their own S-class missions. We have no one left."

"What about me, Master?" Mirajane suggested tentatively.

"Can you give me a guarantee you will be able to fight when necessary?" Makarov asked, not out of doubt but concern. Mirajane hung her head.

"No, I can't."

"Then I can't send you, Mira-chan. You understand."

"Yes, Master."

Makarov stood there, thinking fast. Wasn't there anyone else, anyone at all he could send?

"Oi, what's with the long faces?"

It was a loud and grating voice whose owner was clearly irritated but to Makarov, it was a sound from heaven.

"Gajeel!"

The Iron Dragon Slayer blinked when the Master and Mirajane both turned to him with hopeful and eager faces.

"What the hell's with you two?"

"Gajeel, I need you to go on an S-class mission," Makarov didn't waste any time on niceties.

"No," neither did Gajeel.

"What? Why not?"

"'Cause I just came back from a mission and I don't intend to go for another until I get some rest."

"It's a matter of life and death," Mirajane pleaded.

"So is my rest," came a rude retort as Gajeel turned from them.

"Gajeel," it was the stern voice of a guild master that Makarov used and Gajeel looked back. "I'm not asking you to go, I'm ordering it."

It seemed as if Gajeel would say something rude but he restrained himself. When Makarov used that tone of voice, it meant that the situation was really serious.

"Fine. Where do I need to go?"

"Mira-chan will give you details."

"Well?" he looked expectantly at her.

"It's a town called Sakura, deep in the mainland. What appeared at first as a demon related kidnappings has now been confirmed as doing of Kain Jebel and his people."

"That shithead's still around?"

"You heard about him?"

"The wacko guy who thought himself a Messiah? Yeah, I heard. He's supposed to be tough," Gajeel grinned. "So, you want me to take him out? Has some kind of fancy magic from what I know. Might be interesting."

"No. Your first priority will be a rescue of a Fairy Tail team who had accepted the request to investigate the case before the other facts became known."

Gajeel frowned.

"You're sending me to save some morons' asses? For real?"

"It's the Shadow Gear, Gajeel. I would hardly call them morons."

"That's the blue-haired bookworm and her two accesories, right?" the Iron Dragon Slayer smirked. "I take it back. She's not a moron. The other two, on the other hand..."

"Do you need anything else before you go?" Mirajane didn't even bother to hide her displeasure with his behaviour. Three members of the guild were in danger and he kept cracking jokes.

"Nah, just tell me when they left. I might still catch them on the road and save myself some trouble."

"They took the last late-night train to Harujion and they planned to hire a carriage from there."

"Shit," Gajeel cursed. They had more than sixteen hours on him. He wouldn't catch up with them before that Sakura town. "Well, nothing to do about it. I'll be going then."

"Good luck, Gajeel."

"Luck's for morons," he called back as he threw his pack across his shoulder and went out. Mirajane looked after him and then turned back to Makarov.

"Do you think he will be all right?"

"I wouldn't worry about him, Mira-chan. Gajeel's a tough mage and deep down he cares for the guild and his nakama. He will come back safe and he'll bring the Shadow Gear with him."

It was the utter confidence in Master's voice that finally helped Mirajane to calm down. Yes, Gajeel was one of them now. He could be trusted with the safety of the others.

* * *

The journey to the Sakura town was boring. Gajeel's appearance - black clothes, spiked hair, piercings all over his body - and an overall air of 'don't-mess-with-me-fuckers' kept him free from any attempts at conversation his fellow travellers migth have made otherwise. Even the hired carriage driver seemed to pass all of his limits and previous records, shaken by the appearance of his customer. Gajeel didn't mind. The sooner he got there, the sooner the job will be over. And what a job it was.

A rescue mission. He had been sent to do a rescue mission. Never mind it being S-class. Glorified or not, rescue missions were a hassle of the worst kind. But he couldn't go against the Master's orders. And who knows? It might finally shut up those two idiots he was supposed to be rescuing. They seemed to mellow out after the whole Luxus fiasco but then they saw him talking to their little blue-haired friend - she and Gajeel had bumped into each other in front of the job request board and that conversation had consisted entirely of her apologies and his neverminds - and it was back to square one.

Gajeel grinned to himself. It was actually rather amusing, that jealousy of theirs. He and Levy got along just fine, as little interaction as they had had since the festival and they must have felt threatened by it. But Gajeel could care less about the opinions of two idiots who were still wary of him even after he almost got his ass fried for their guild's sake. And unless he pulled one hell of a rescue mission, it wasn't about to change anytime soon.

"S-sir?" the driver was hovering nervously at the door. "We've arrived."

Gajeel brushed past the frightened driver, looking at the town in front of him. He was not impressed. It laid on a small plateau, covering the entirety of it with buildings and streets that looked more like a maze than a proper town. The carriage station was situated at the eastern end of the town on a small hillock so he had a good view of the whole area. Just where in the fuck's sake was he going to start looking?

"Oi," he turned to the driver who jumped a bit in fright.

"Do you remember the people you've been driving in the last couple of days?"

"Yes, sir. Most of them."

"Good. Was there a group of three mages among them? Short, blue-haired girl and two walking fashion disasters."

The man thought it over.

"Yes, I believe there were such people. The girl was very nice."

Gajeel rolled his eyes. Trust a guy to remember a girl.

"Do you know where they went from here? Or were you too busy ogling her?"

The driver seemed to take an offense at that, drew himself up to protest his innocence and... he deflated. Gajeel didn't look like a person you wanted to piss off.

"They were talking about checking into a hotel and then speaking with the mayor about their job."

"Right. Where can I find this mayor?"

"The townhall is directly down the main street in the middle of the town."

"Figures," Gajeel mumbled to himself. He turned away from the driver who sagged with relief. Time to search for the lost mages.

* * *

It wasn't that hard to get an audience with the mayor. All it took was a couple of words - more like well-worded threats - with his secretary and he was ushered in. The mayor seemed to fill a stereotype set for such a position. Short, rounded, pompous. And wholly unimpressed by the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Give me one good reason for not having you arrested right now, Mr. Mage."

Gajeel gave him his trademark grin.

"You've got an insane S-class mage on the loose somewhere in the town. I can take him down."

The mayor blinked at him. Gajeel looked back steadily, the grin never leaving his face. The mayor finally looked away.

"What do you want?"

"Three other mages came to investigate those disappearances you had. Where did they go?"

"The Fairy Tail mages? Is one of them the S-class one you were talking about?"

"No, you idiot," Gajeel barked. The stupidity of some people... "The S-class fucker is the one responsible for the disappearing thing. I'm here to save their asses."

"Ah," the mayor floundered for a moment. "They said when they came in last night that they would start by searching the forest on the northern side of the town. There are some old ruins there and they thought the demon might have settled there."

"Okay. I'll start there, too."

* * *

The forest was dull as Gajeel found out after the first ten minutes. Some trees, very dense underbrush, small clearings now and then, it was an ordinary forest like any other. But what wasn't so ordinary were the trails going through it. There were clear signs of their frequent use - broken twigs, flat-stomped grass, even some rubbish.

Gajeel straightend up from where he had crouched down to examine the trail and sniffed the air. There was nothing at first but then the breeze changed direction and he caught smells of several people. And among them - he took another sniff to make sure - was the familiar scent of the Fairy Tail's resident bookworm.

Gajeel smirked. It seemed the rescue mission was going to end sooner than he had thought. He started sprinting in that direction and he could see that the tree line was already getting thinner. He paused just at the edge of the forest and took a good look at the ruins in front of him.

They were hardly deserving of the name. Scattered boulders, remains of some walls, weed and bushes sprouting everywhere. The only thing that looked tended to was a large slab of stone in the middle of the ruins. A circle of people was surrounding it and Gajeel spotted the two male members of the Shadow Gear, bound and unconscious in the front of the altar thing. As for Levy herself...

* * *

Levy tugged at her bonds again but they held firm. She glanced worriedly at Jet and Droy though from her position at the top of the altar, she could barely see their heads. Her attention was brought back to the man who had defeated them all when he stepped to the side of the altar and smiled down at her.

It would have been a nice smile, if not for the face that was surrounding it. The face was thin, almost gaunt and there was a hungry expression on it as if the man was starving for something he couldn't get. And his eyes were even worse. They glinted with an unchecked madness and their fanatical light seemed to hold all of his followers in a trance.

Levy squirmed again, because even if it was useless, she was at least trying to do something and not just lying there like a helpless victim, resigned to her fate.

"Don't fight, little girl," the man spoke soothingly, petting her hair. "Very soon you'll be delivered from this world of evilness and to a paradise. Isn't that wonderful?"

Levy refused to reply. It was blindingly obvious that this man was severely lacking in sanity and trying to talk to him would accomplish nothing at all.

"Why are you so silent? Don't you want to thank me for helping you reach salvation?" he stopped petting her hair and grabbed a handful of it instead, raising her head off the altar. "Answer me!"

"Let me and my friends go!" Levy demanded with more bravado than she felt. "I don't want your paradise!"

He let go of her head abruptly and Levy barely suppressed a yelp of pain as it struck the stone surface.

"You don't have a choice. You'll be saved like all those people in the town. They resisted, too, but once their blood flew freely, they stopped struggling and you will be like them."

Something that had so far been eluding her finally clicked into place and Levy's eyes widened.

"You were the one kidnapping people, not some demon."

She had thought the presence of that group of people in the ruins had been a coincidence because everyone in the town had insisted that a demon had been the one responsible for the missing people. They should have known better than to trust a town gossip and it was a mistake that could end up being their last.

"You are a smart girl and what is even rarer, still pure," the man commented and smiled at her again, his outburst from before forgotten. "I'm glad to have saved you."

He didn't seem to expect a reply this time because he motioned to one of his lackeys and was handed a long thin dagger which was decorated by a single ruby in the pommel. He raised it high and his followers raised their arms, mimicking his motions.

"Let's pray!" his voice boomed. "Let our prayer open a way to paradise for this innocent soul."

"Let's pray!" everyone echoed. Levy closed her eyes tightly. This was the end. She would never again see her friends. She would never return to the guild and take more missions. She would never-

THUD!

The chanting stopped. And in the silence that followed, a very familiar and most welcome voice spoke up.

"Hey, cut it off, you crazy fuckers."

Levy's eyes flew open. The man with the dagger was no longer standing over her. Twisting her head, she saw him on the ground several yards further, a thin iron rod protruding from his chest. Quickly looking the other way, she saw Gajeel, who was standing nonchalantly several feet from the circle of acolytes, a wide grin stretching his face.

"Heh, not so tough as claimed," he said and as screams of fury erupted from the throats of the man's followers, he transformed one of his arms into a large blade. "Let's see about the rest of you."

Some of the men had swords and they unsheathed them, lunging towards Gajeel. He easily dodged their assault, swiping his sword-arm across their backs as he moved towards the altar. He blocked another attack by simply raising his other arm and the attacker's sword glanced off it. Gajeel punched him out and then simply jumped into the air, landing next to the captive mages. He sliced Levy's bonds and pulled her to her feet. He steadied her for a bit before handing her a small dagger.

"Release those two and wake them up."

Levy nodded but he didn't see because he had already turned away to face the second wave of the attackers.

"By the way!" he called out to her. "Nice dress."

Levy blushed. The men who had captured them had changed her outfit from her usual bright tunic and black leggings into a white shift that could be best described as skimpy. She didn't care much when she had been waiting for her upcoming death but now that it was clear they would get out of the mess alive, she felt all of the embarassment return tenfold.

She knelt down, slicing the ropes that bound Jet and Droy and tried shaking them awake to no avail. Their captors had forced them to swallow some kind of potion and it seemed its effects had yet to wear off.

Levy glanced around, thinking quickly. She tore off a bit of the hem of her shift and using the dust, wrote 'WATER' on it. Raising the scrap of cloth over her friends' heads, she poured her magic into it. The transformation was instant and about a litre of water splashed down on their faces. They coughed and sputtered as the cold water helped them wake up.

"L-levy? Are you alright?" Jet asked as he shook out the water from his hair.

"I'm fine. We have been saved."

"Who?" Droy was rubbing his wrists and looking around.

"Iron Dragon Roar!"

A sonic wave passed over them, knocking down two men who were stealthily approaching them from behind.

"Gajeel?" Jet gasped.

Levy nodded, not bothering to hide her smile.

"He came at the last minute, just as their leader was about to kill me," she explained and then added sternly. "I told you he could be trusted."

Jet and Droy glanced sheepishly at each other. It went unspoken that they trusted Gajeel just fine, except with Levy. But they couldn't tell her that. The awkward moment was broken as Gajeel landed next to them, glaring at them.

"Hey, I'm working my ass off to save you. The most dangerous guy is out of the fight so stop chatting and do something, too."

And he was gone again. There were only eight enemies left by then, five of them mages. The Shadow Gear stood up as one, their years of working together showing clearly as they split up to fight. Jet blurred up, his speed alowing him to overcome the distance between him and his opponent before the other had a chance to blink, never mind avoiding Jet's hit. Droy directed his plants to tangle up their enemies' legs and hold them immobile while Levy sacrificed even more of her already diminishing skirt to flung little fireballs at them.

"About time," they could hear Gajeel murmur. With all four of them fighting together, it was a matter of seconds before there were no more enemies to defeat. Overall, they were rather weak. Gajeel, of course, was the one to do most of the work and he knew it, if his smug grin was anything to go by.

"Piece of cake," he said, walking over to the Shadow Gear. "You, the guy with plants-"

"My name is Droy," Droy interrupted him but Gajeel waved it off.

"Whatever. Use your magic to tie up those guys. We'll send the town's militia to clear this up and it would be bad if some of them were to run."

"What about their leader?" Levy asked as Droy reluctantly set to work.

"He's probably dead and good riddance," Gajeel sneered. "He wasn't supposed to go down so easily. S-class mage, my ass!"

He circled the altar and stopped in his tracks.

"What the hell?"

"What happened?" Levy asked, alarmed.

"The fucker's gone!" Gajeel exclaimed. "I got him clean through the heart so where the fuck is he?"

"Who was it?" Jet spoke.

"Kain Jebel, heard of him?"

Levy nodded mutely, a shiver of fear running down her spine. She had certainly heard of him. One of the most feared criminals on the continent. And he came very close to killing her. She was going to have nightmares after this, she knew it.

Gajeel was sniffing the air and frowning.

"I can't catch his scent. It's like he disappeared into a thin air or something."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not ours. I was here to save your asses, not take him down. Mission's over."

"But, he's very dangerous," Levy argued.

"We took down all of the lackeys he had left. Well," Gajeel corrected himself, "I took them down. He won't be able to do a rat's ass for a while. And by then, someone else will catch up with him."

The Shadow Gear had to agree with him. And besides, they couldn't follow Jebel since they didn't know where he went. Levy changed into her original clothes and the white shift was tossed away. Leaving the bound sect members behind, they trudged back into the Sakura town, notifying the mayor of the details of the mission and collecting the substantially raised reward for subduing the dangerous sect.

And now, they stood in the lobby of the hotel that the Shadow Gear had checked into the previous day. Levy wanted to spend the night in the town and set out for Fairy Tail in the morning. Gajeel had protested, of course, wanting to be gone as soon as possible but Levy prevailed. There was only one minor obstacle.

"No rooms are left?" Levy repeated disbelievingly after the receptionist.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but the annual Sakura Market Day is in two days and all of the rooms are already full. It's the same in all of the hotels in the town. If you didn't come in yesterday instead of today, we wouldn't have been able to provide you with your rooms either," the clerk spread his arms in a helpless gesture. "I'm really sorry."

Levy huffed and turned to the rest of their group. Before she could as much as open her mouth, Gajeel spoke.

"It's settled, we're leaving."

"We're not," she said, putting her balled hands on her hips. "I have been almost sacrificed today by a lunatic and I want to take a bath and have a full night's sleep."

"Okay. You stay, I'll camp out. Not like I really give a shit."

"That wouldn't be fair. You saved us, you deserve a room and a warm bed just like the three of us."

Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Stop making a fuss. I have survived worse."

"No," Levy was glaring at him stubbornly and even Jet and Droy knew better than to interfere in this. "There is another option. We got two rooms yesterday, one for the guys and one for me. Both of them had two beds. You can sleep in the free one in my room."

"Levy!" Jet and Droy spoke at the same time, shocked by her suggestion. Gajeel raised one studded brow.

"Aren't you afraid to share?" he grinned wickedly.

"I trust you," she replied simply. And that seemed to settle it.

"Lead the way," Gajeel spoke, brushing past the stupefied mages and following Levy upstairs.

* * *

A/N: So, Gajeel, Levy and a hotel room. Imagine what could happen, then please take a look at the rating and imagine again :D I won't update for about two weeks because I'm leaving for ten days for my summer job and there won't be an internet connection there. Which means I won't be able to reply to your reviews, either but I promise I'll try to catch up. BTW, I hope you liked the first chapter.


	2. Of provocations, suspicions & puppy look

Okay, the promised update is here. More on the humorous side. And fluffy... towels... heh heh... But seriously, there is some fluff in the later part, so consider yourselves warned.

**Chapter 2:** Of provocations, suspicions and puppy looks (_where Gajeel is annoying, Jet and Droy imagine far too much and Levy pulls out her most devastating weapon - the puppy eyes_)

* * *

It was one of the funniest sights the Iron Dragon Slayer had ever seen. Levy McGarden was a tiny slip of a girl, her head barely reaching his shoulder. Both of her teammates towered over her as well but that didn't stop her from being a boss of their little team. And as a boss, her orders were absolute.

"I will be all right," she repeated for what must have been the tenth time that evening. She was standing in the door of her hotel room, refusing the entry to Jet and Droy. "I don't understand why you are so mistrustful of him. If he wanted to hurt me, he could have done so back in the clearing."

"But Levy, you don't understand," Droy tried to explain.

"Then enlighten me, because I really don't get why the both of you are so fussy."

They probably didn't mean for Gajeel to hear all of this, since they were speaking in hushed voices. They apparently forgot about his superhuman senses. Gajeel himself was lounging on the bed, pretending to be interested in the balcony door so that his grin wouldn't be visible. He was curious as to how the two jealous mages would explain the situation to their teammate without telling the true reason for their apprehension.

"It's not proper," Jet tried. "A girl cannot sleep in a room with a guy when they are not married. It's just not done."

"Honestly," Levy huffed. "Is that all? It would be the same situation, no matter how much we changed the rooms around so that point is moot."

"But propriety-"

"There are two beds. It's proper enough."

Gajeel couldn't resist. He knew that a physical fighting with the other guild members wouldn't help his standing any and Master himself had told him to behave but there had never been anything said about verbal taunting. And the opening was just too good to miss. He rolled over to watch the drama at the door unfold and to stoke up the flames a bit.

"They are afraid I'll try to take an advantage of you, my dear little bookworm," Gajeel explained in a patronizing tone. "I'm a big, bad Dragon Slayer who eats little girls like you for breakfast. Of course they can't leave you alone with me."

Levy's gaze softened a little. It was sweet of Jet and Droy to look out for her but she wanted her hot shower and she wasn't about to get it with the two of them still standing there.

"Guys, I will be fine."

"But-" Jet tried to protest but Droy stopped him.

"Let's listen to her for now. But if he tries anything," he glared at Gajeel who returned it without a flinch, "scream. We'll hear you and come to help."

"You wouldn't make it in time," Gajeel called out tauntingly.

"Gajeel!" Levy turned and frowned at him. "You aren't helping the situation at all."

"What?" Gajeel protested, trying and failing to look innocent. "All I'm saying is that if I really wanted to do something to you, they wouldn't be able to do jackshit about it. It's a fact, not threat."

"That's enough, all three of you," Levy's voice cracked out like a whip when her two friends tried to move into the room. "You're like a bunch of kids. Jet, Droy, you go to your own room. Gajeel, you stop provoking them. Are we clear?"

Two sullen nods from Jet and Droy and one hand-wave by Gajeel pacified her a bit.

"Good. We're getting up at sunrise, so go to sleep early, okay? Goodnight."

Levy finally pushed the door closed and leaned against it, letting out a big sigh.

"Whipped," came a snicker from her temporary roommate. Levy's head snapped up and she stalked over to the Dragon Slayer's bed, trying for intimidation.

"I'm tired, Gajeel and all I want is a hot shower and a full night's sleep. Don't get on my nerves or else."

He let her glare at him for a second before he chuckled and stood up, easily towering over her.

"Or else what? Face it, you suck at threatening people."

"And you excel at it?" she returned easily.

"Yup," he nodded proudly and then turned her around by her shoulders, pushing her towards the bathroom door. "But I'm not an idiot. Go take your bath or shower or whatever so you can stop being so irritated. Besides, you smell," he added with a smirk.

"I don't smell!" Levy protested, blushing hard. Gajeel tapped one side of his nose.

"You can't fool this nose."

"You-" the solid-script using mage was rendered speechless. "That's so rude of you."

The Iron Dragon Slayer shrugged.

"What did you expect? A compliment? At least I'm honest."

Muttering low under her breath, Levy went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and locking it. Gajeel stared after her for a moment, tapping his nose again.

"Interesting," he murmured. She hadn't smelled of fear, not once. Irritation, sure. But not fear. Not even after he had deliberately entered her personal space did she show fear of him. It was a marked change from just a few weeks ago.

Back then, Levy had cowered behind the corners, watching him fearfully, her whole being speaking of how scared she had been of him. No wonder, after what he had done to her team to declare the war between Phantom and Fairy Tail. And then, in a space of only a few days, everything had changed. It had started when he had protected her from what would have been a fatal hit to her. Later on, during the fighting madness that Luxus had instigated, they had spoken together briefly while she had been working and the fear had been almost gone by then. That was when he had found himself watching her, trying to work out why it had been so.

She was no longer afraid of him. Either she was the most naive and trusting person he had ever met or she had a spine of pure steel. Because to be able to overcome an almost primal fear that he had instilled in her before, she had to have a lot of an inner strength. Gratefulness and reasoning took one only so far when it came to overcoming the instincts one possessed.

"There's a lot more to you than one would guess at the first glance, huh?" Gajeel said to himself, watching the bathroom door. But a soft noise, just at the edge of his hearing, seized his attention immediately.

It was coming from the outside, as if someone was trying to approach stealthily to the balcony door. And it would have worked on anyone else. But the Iron Dragon Slayer's senses were superior to any ordinary human's. So, someone wanted to take him by surprise? Fine by him.

Gajeel transformed his right arm and stalked over to the balcony door, getting ready to blow it open and his would-be-attacker along with it when-

"Levy's going to be angry if she finds out we spied on her."

"Do you really want to leave her alone in a room with him?"

"No, I don't. I just hope she doesn't find out."

"We have to protect her. We have failed her three times by now. We can't let anything happen to her."

"You're right."

Gajeel almost groaned out loud. They just didn't know when to quit, did they? He was very close to simply opening the door and tossing both of those morons over the railing when a far better idea presented itself to him and Gajeel grinned. They would get what they deserved, all right.

* * *

Levy rubbed her shampooed hair with a bit more vigour than was necessary. So, she smelled, huh? She was being irritated, huh? Well, let's see how the high and mighty Iron Dragon Slayer would deal with being captured and almost sacrificed and on top of that having to play a referee for a bunch of guys who should have known better by then, all in a space of a single day. She would bet anything he would be far worse off than her.

She rinsed her hair off, staying for a few moments longer in the steaming water, letting it pelt her skin and she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. She was being tired, that was all. And Gajeel seemed to excel at getting under her skin without even trying. It wasn't as if he was annoying her on purpose. And he really seemed to try to get along with the others. If he lacked in the tact department, well, that was an unfortunate occurence but hardly something to hold a grudge over.

Levy shut the water off, reaching blindly for the towels and wrapping them around herself. Now, that she had calmed down, she was ready to face the world again. Getting dressed in her pajamas and drying her hair off as much as she could took her only about five minutes and she opened the bathroom door, walked out and stopped almost immediately.

She was barely aware of the door closing behind her because she was far more focused on the sight in front of her. Two inches in front of her to be precise because Gajeel seemed to stand right in front of the bathroom door and she came face-to-face with him. Or more precisely, face-to-chest with him, due to her short stature.

His chest was very muscular, she noticed. It was muscular and she could tell because it was also very much bare. It was a bare, muscular chest. Gajeel's chest. Gajeel's bare, muscular chest. And she had been staring at it like a brain-dead girl for at least ten seconds.

Levy quickly snapped her eyes up to focus on the Iron Dragon Slayer's face. He was smirking down at her and she felt herself blush furiously. Her blush intensified even more when he started to lean down to her.

She wasn't aware that she was backing away from him until her back hit the bathroom door. With nowhere to go, she pressed herself against it. Gajeel put both of his hands on the door next to her head, neatly boxing her in a small space that seemed to be defined by the door on one side and his body on all of the other sides.

As his face came ever closer to hers, Levy tried to figure out what was going on. Was he going to kiss her? Should she scream for help? Or should she let him? What if she liked it? What if she didn't? What-

Gajeel brought his mouth next to her right ear and started speaking in a low voice.

"Any moment now, those two idiotic friends of yours are going to burst in, demanding that I let you go," he breathed into her ear and she shivered. "Three, two, one..."

"Let her go, you bastard!"

The balcony door was flung open and Jet and Droy burst into the room, pumped up and ready to rescue Levy from the evil clutches of Gajeel Redfox. The man in question straightened up and grinned victoriously.

"See? I told you."

With that he gently pushed her to the side and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Their momentum broken, Jet and Droy paused uncertainly in the midle of the room.

"Levy?" Jet asked.

Levy had her head hung down, her damp hair covering her face. And then she looked up at them and they both took a step back.

"You were spying on me?"

"We can explain," Droy tried.

"Then do it."

"We were worried that he would try to pull off something like that scene we broke up. You're not safe with him. He will try to-"

"He will try nothing," Levy cut them off, the full understanding of the situation dawning on her. "That scene you broke up was staged by him for your benefit. Do you know what he told me while he was leaning over me? Do you?"

They both shook their heads no.

"He said, and I quote: Any moment now, those two idiotic friends of yours are going to burst in, demanding that I let you go. Three, two, one. And you did."

Jet and Droy looked at each other and winced.

"He must have heard us on the balcony. But how? We were very careful."

"He's a Dragon Slayer, guys," Levy told them exasparatedly. "His senses are several times better than ours. Sight, smell," she grimaced at that, "hearing. All of them."

"That's right!" hollered a voice from the bathroom, followed by a loud snicker.

"See?" Levy gestured wildly. "He's enjoying taunting you and you are gullible enough to fall into his trap. And I'm caught in the middle for some reason. I don't care what issues you have with him. Put them aside for tonight. Please. For me."

She was being unfair, using one of the most successful and powerful weapons in her female arsenal but she was getting desperate for some rest. She opened her eyes wide in a pleading look that would make a newborn puppy envious. Jet and Droy never stood a chance, their resistance crumbling into nothing under the power of her eyes.

"Okay. No more bothering you tonight, we promise."

"Thanks guys," Levy beamed at them, her task accomplished. She watched as they leaved through the balcony (they had locked their room from the inside and hadn't taken a key with them) and then gave into an urge to jump into the bed, burying her head into the pillow and letting out a frustrated scream.

She needed Lucy. Or Mirajane. She needed to talk to another girl about what had just happened and her own confusing reaction to it. She had really thought Gajeel was going to... She blushed again just at the thought. What the heck was wrong with her? This was Gajeel. A fellow mage and reluctant comrade, not really even a friend. Just several weeks ago she had been scared to death of him. Sure, she had accepted him since then and trusted him as any other guild member but to consider him in a romantic light all of a sudden? It didn't make any sense.

Rolling on her back, she hugged the pillow to herself and stared at the ceiling.

"I must be going insane," she decided.

"Oh, really? Then I'd better sleep with one eye open, in case you snap and want to kill me."

Levy sat up quickly, being caught off guard again. She looked towards the bathroom door and immediately glanced away, to avoid either blushing or laughing at the sight. Gajeel was standing shirtless in the doorway, rubbing his long black hair with a white fluffy towel. The sight of the towel was what threatened to send Levy into a hysterical laughing fit. It was just so incongruous with the tough image that Gajeel usually projected.

"I think you're safe for tonight," she replied to his previous statement. "I'm just tired and your little stunt didn't help the matters any."

"Sorry for that," he said and tossed the towel back into the bathroom. "But I got tired of them sniffing around. And since I can't beat them up," he shrugged in a what-was-I-supposed-to-do way.

"Why not?" she asked curiously. She knew that several weeks ago, he hadn't fought back because he had wanted to prove he was their nakama. But his involvement in the fight against Luxus had persuaded most of the guild members that he could be trusted. And friendly fighting was an usual occurence in Fairy Tail. And truth be told, she wouldn't blame him for knocking Jet and Droy around a bit, not after the way they had treated him.

"I promised the old geezer. No fighting with the weak shits."

"They are not weak," Levy defended her team.

"Compared to me, they are," was Gajeel's smug but truthful reply. Levy pouted.

"Do you always have to be such a..." she trailed off trying to think of a word that would fit him but wouldn't offend him.

"Bastard? Asshole?" he offered easily. "Sure. It keeps the annoying people away."

"You are impossible," Levy stated.

"That's me, all right," Gajeel nodded and sat down on his bed. She could see him glance in the direction of the balcony and hurried to assure him.

"They won't be back again."

"How did you do it?" he asked curiously. "I heard all of what you said but it was no different than before."

It was Levy's turn to be smug.

"It's not what I said but what I did."

"So what did you do?"

"I used my eyes."

"Your... eyes?" the Iron Dragon Slayer repeated unbelievingly. "You have some eye magic?"

"No. It's a female thing. Let me show you."

Turning on the bed so she faced him, she once again pulled the pleading, big-eyed look, curious how well it would work on him. He stared at her, his own eyes getting bigger as she intensified the puppy look and Gajeel finally broke down.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "What the hell is that look?"

"It's good, huh?" Levy asked mischievously. "Just try to say no to those eyes. You would feel bad for weeks afterwards."

Did he know it! She had pulled the less intense one on him during the fighting festival when she had asked him to stop Luxus but it didn't even start to compare to this version of it. The girl was dangerous!

"How did you learn it?"

"It comes naturally to the girls. The cuter you are, the more effective it is," Levy explained. "And I have been described as very cute enough times to know it works for me. The pleading look is a girl's best friend," she added, feeling very satisfied with herself. So, even the Dragon Slayer himself wasn't immune to the look. Good to know. Next time he started annoying her, she would know how to deal with him.

"Just don't pull it on me, okay?" he asked.

"As long as you behave," she promised. Gajeel frowned.

"That's blackmail."

"Would you like to see the version with clasped hands and sparkly eyes?" she batted her eyelashes at him.

"Fine, fine. You win," he agreed reluctantly. Levy smiled triumphantly.

"Good. And noooooow," she yawned and grinned sheepishly, "I think I'm going to go to sleep. It has been a long day."

She pulled away the covers and burrowed under them until only her head was visible.

"Goodnight, Gajeel," she called out.

"'Night, Levy," he replied and he watched her as she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out until she was asleep. In less than two minutes. Gajeel shook his head in puzzlement. She must have been really tired to go out like that. But still... The speed with which she had gone to sleep and the unspoken but obvious trust in him it had implied... Levy McGarden was a mystery. And Gajeel Redfox was determined to find out more.

He reached out and switched off the light. In the semi-darkness of the room, he laid down on his side, facing the other bed and its occupant. And as he closed his eyes, her face was the last thing he had seen before falling asleep as well.

* * *

A/N: So, I'm back after more than two weeks. I actually came back from my summer job (helping out at a farm) last Sunday but there is a festival in my village tommorrow and we were busy with preparations, so this update is up only now. Sorry for that. I'll be better with the following ones.

I'm thinking of weekly updates for this and about eight to ten chapters. After that, I will finally start working on Unleashed (I already have the thing outlined and divided into arcs and OCs created and checked for Sueisms). Magnetism itself will tie into the Unleashed storyline, as I realized that basically all of my FT fics can fit into the Unleashed canon I am creating. So, be on a lookout for the plot hints. I have already dropped some in Odds and Ends and Magnetism's going to be full of them once we get really started.

See ya all later...


	3. Of an unfinished business and dead mages

So, an update as I have promised. We get more plot development this time around, I hope you won't mind.

**Chapter 3:** Of an unfinished business and dead mages (_where Mirajane asks embarrassing questions, Gajeel talks to his master and Levy beats her head against the table_)

* * *

"Hmm," Master Makarov stroke his beard thoughtfully. "So he was gone by the time you got around to check his body."

"Yes."

The Shadow Gear and Gajeel stood in front of the Master, telling him about the mission in Sakura. Most of the talking was done by Levy, since Jet and Droy had been knocked out by a potion fed to them by the sect members and they hadn't witnessed much of the fight. Gajeel was standing a little bit to the side, throwing in a comment now and then, mostly to the effect of how useless the enemy mages had been.

The journey back to the guild had been uneventful. No fight, either verbal or physical had broken out between the three males. Levy had been safe and unhurt in the morning and had chastised Droy for even daring to ask about it. Gajeel had kept throwing little glances her way but since he had taken no other action, a peace had been kept.

"Are you sure he was dead, Gajeel?" Master asked.

"As sure as I can be," the Iron Dragon Slayer replied, crossing his arms. "I've got a good aim and even if I missed the heart, it should have gone through his lungs. And I've caught no trace of him leaving in any direction. It's like he disappeared into a thin air."

"He most likely did," the tiny mage sighed. "It's a long-distance teleportation magic. You need a lot of power but then again, Jebel never lacked in that. He disappears in one place and appears in another, as far as one thousand miles away. It was one of his specialties."

"Surviving being impaled was another, I guess," Gajeel murmured sarcastically.

"No need to grumble about that, Gajeel," the guild master told him. "You did a good job, saving Levy, Jet and Droy and busting up Jebel's organization. He has no followers left. It's only a matter of time before he is finally caught. We sent the information to the Council and they distributed it among all the guilds. He's the most sought after man on the continent now. He cannot escape."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Master. Can I go now?"

"Yes."

The four of them stared after Gajeel as he picked his way through the bustling crowd in the guild building and left the guild. Makarov turned to the Shadow Gear.

"Has anything happened? Gajeel seems a bit..." he paused, searching for the right word, "...out of balance," he finished. His look was a knowing one and clearly said that the Master was aware of the underlying tension between the team and the guild's newest recruit.

"Nothing happened," Levy spoke firmly before Jet and Droy could so much as open their mouths. "There was a bit of a misunderstanding but it has been cleared by now."

"That's good, then," Master nodded. "It's important that there are no misunderstandings between fellow mages. It could lead to a tragedy, should it get out of hand."

The Shadow Gear nodded as one, Jet and Droy more guiltily than Levy.

"Take a rest now," Makarov said as he hopped off the bar counter, his staff clattering when it hit the floor. "You deserve it."

"That's right," a cheerful voice spoke up. Mirajane had made a way down the bar to them, unnoticed. "What will you have? Or should I pick for you?"

"No, thanks, Mira," Jet said, looking at Droy. "We'll be going now."

"Going?" Levy asked. "Already? But I'd like to stay for a bit longer."

"Erm," Droy started, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "You can stay, Levy. Only Jet and I are going."

"What do you mean by that? Can't I go with you?"

"No, it's not that, it's just that..." Droy trailed off.

"It's a surprise," Jet blurted out, wincing when Mirajane and Levy both looked at him expectantly. "I can't really say more," he finished lamely. Levy sighed.

"Okay, I won't ask. But you'd better not be picking any fights with anyone," she said warningly.

"We won't. We promise."

Mirajane smiled fondly at Jet and Droy's retreating backs before turning to the smaller girl.

"They're nice, just a bit-"

"-overwhelming sometimes?" Levy finished for her.

"Yeah. But it's endearing in its own way," the white-haired barmaid smiled. "So, what would you like to drink?"

"The usual. Black currant-"

"-juice with two lemon slices," Mirajane finished together with her and the girls laughed. "Coming right up."

"Thank you," the blue-haired girl said when the full glass was set in front of her.

"You're welcome. And now you can tell me all about that cleared misunderstanding you have mentioned earlier to Master."

Levy groaned. Mirajane was like a shark when it came to a potential gossip. It went with the territorry and the job, she supposed, but it was rather embarrassing.

"It was nothing, Mira-chan," she tried to throw her off the scent but it was useless.

"Nuh-uh, Levy-chan. There is an interesting story behind it and I want to hear it. Now, spill it."

Trying to argue with Mirajane would only delay the inevitable and Levy gave in.

"Gajeel and I had to share a hotel room in Sakura and Jet and Droy burst in because they thought he was trying to do something to me," she spoke rapidly, giving only a couple of details, hoping it would suffice to satisfy Mirajane's curiousity. She wasn't that lucky.

"And was he trying to do something to you?"

"No!"

"You're blushing," Mirajane noted and Levy barely hold off the flow of words that would shock everyone if they heard them from her.

"It's not like that."

"Oh?"

The single word was loaded with a lot of hidden meanings. Explaining was the only self-defense Levy had left, or else Mirajane would draw her own conclusions. And that would be a disaster.

"The guys hid on the balcony to keep an eye on me. Gajeel had been provoking them quite a lot before and they had taken him seriously. But he noticed them being there and made a scene for their benefit. He waited for me as I came out of the bathroom and he made it look like he was going to kiss me. Of course, Jet and Droy ran in immediately but he only laughed at them and left me to deal with them."

"I see," Mirajane seemed as if she was barely holding back laughter. "That explains the misunderstanding part but not why you're still blushing."

Levy dropped her head on the counter. She remembered wishing for Lucy or Mirajane to be there to talk to back in the hotel room. Now, she was no longer sure it was such a good idea.

"It's just... how would you feel if you thought someone was going to kiss you and then it turned out it was a joke?"

"Ah. Your pride was wounded," the barmaid nodded knowingly.

"No, it wasn't," Levy protested. "I was angry. And confused. And that's it."

"Okay, I'll accept that for now. But I know there's something you're not telling me," Mirajane leaned over the counter, wagging a finger in Levy's face. "That's not nice, Levy-chan."

"Just drop it, Mira-chan."

"For now," the former S-class mage agreed. "I'm making no promises for when Lucy's back."

The reminder of the dangerous mission their friends had undertaken sobered them both.

"You think they'll be alright?" Levy asked.

"Of course. They are our strongest team, aren't they?" was Mirajane's comforting reply and Levy smiled. Lucy would be just fine.

* * *

Magnolia had several parks scattered all throughout the town. They were perfect for when a person wanted to be undisturbed or to contact someone in secrecy, for example a master of a notorious Dark Guild.

Gajeel was crouching near the top of the largest oak tree in Magnolia's Eastern Park. A small shikigami was fluttering in a breeze as he made his report to Ivan Dreyar.

"It's going well, so far. They are trusting me more when it comes to the guild business."

"And on the personal level?"

Gajeel grimaced. Both of his masters had a knack for asking uncomfortable questions he would rather not answer.

"That's not so good. Some are still wary of me."

"You need to work more on your people skills, Gajeel-chan," the small paper doll lectured.

"So you keep saying."

"No need to be so grumpy, Gajeel-chan. I think you are progressing rather well. And things are moving along on this side, as well. You know about the alliance of the legal guilds, don't you?"

"Yeah, I heard about it."

It was a popular topic in the guild. There were even bets made about who of the four mages sent would contribute more to the success. Gajeel would put his money on Titania, if he was inclined to join in on the betting. Salamander was strong, too, but his power level fluctuated too much.

"Have you thought about the consequences should they succeed or fail?" Ivan asked him.

"Not really. Would it even make a difference for us?"

"But of course it would. Think, Gajeel-chan. Four guilds joined forces against one guild of the Balam Alliance. What would happen if they destroyed it?"

"One Dark Guild less?"

Ivan chuckled.

"Succinctly put. Their target is Oracion Seis. It consists of six people only but each of them is unbelievably strong. Their destruction would create a power vacuum that would need to be filled. And who better to fill it than the only Dark Guild that was able to keep independent?"

"You aim to become part of the Balam Alliance?"

Now, that was something new. Makarov would be very interested in hearing it. Ivan's ambitions were rather grand.

"Exactly. The 'forces of evil' need order just as much, if not more so than the good guys. I doubt Hades-kun and Medea-kun would protest our joining much."

"Hades and Medea?" Gajeel asked. The names were unfamiliar to him.

"Leaders of Grimoire Heart and Tartaros, the other two Balam Alliance's guilds. Very few people know their names. You should feel privileged."

"I'm flattered," came a dry reply. Another tidbit of interesting info. "And what if the good guys fail?"

"Four guilds lose some of their trump cards. Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail would be hit the hardest, I believe. Jura of the Rock, Titania Erza, even Salamander. The losses would criple the legal guilds. And we can't forget that Oracion Seis wouldn't escape unscathed, either. I don't believe for a moment that a woman like Titania would go down without taking out her opponent as well."

"You seem to consider her the strongest in that alliance, Master Ivan."

"You have seen her fighting, Gajeel-chan. Surely you recognize her power. I believe my father is slowly grooming her to take over the guild after him. Too bad it will never happen."

Gajeel didn't need to ask what Ivan had meant by that. The complete destruction of Fairy Tail was Ivan's ultimate goal and he made no secret of that. Still, there were several factors in the play and Ivan might yet get an unpleasant surprise.

"There was another thing," the Iron Dragon Slayer began hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"You heard about Kain Jebel?"

"Yes, I even thought of recruiting him but he was a loose cannon. The gain wouldn't be worth the risk. Why do you ask?"

"I ran into him during my latest mission and the fucker's disappeared on me before we could fight for real. It pissed me off."

"You should control your violent tendencies better, Gajeel-chan," Ivan commented.

"I control them just fine," Gajeel grumbled. "But I don't like it when someone pulls something like that on me. I want to take him down, just for that stunt alone."

"A matter of pride for you, eh?" Ivan said amusedly. "I take it you want me to give you some info on him?"

"Yeah, that would do."

"I don't know that much but he can use long-distance teleportation."

"I know that."

"Patience is a virtue, Gajeel-chan, you have surely heard that before?" when no answer came, Ivan chuckled again. "He's supposedly impossible to kill because he used an ancient dark ritual on himself to gain immortality. What kind of ritual or the exact consequences of it are not known. And there is the whole slew of minor spells he is capable of, mostly of elemental nature, though he seems to prefer wind-based ones. Was that helpful at all?"

"Actually, yeah," Gajeel grinned. "I now know what to expect."

"Good, just don't get caught up in your little revenge and forget about the bigger picture."

"Don't worry, Master Ivan. I'm always thinking of the bigger picture."

The sinister words made Ivan laugh. The little shikigami fluttered away, carrying the laughter with it. Gajeel stared after it and once he was sure he couldn't be heard by the Raven Tail's master, he allowed himself a chuckle, as well.

"I just think you won't like the bigger picture at all."

He jumped down from the tree and set out for the guild. There was a little favour he wanted to ask from Levy. He doubted she would refuse, once he explained it to her.

* * *

Levy was reading a new novel she had preordered and that had arrived while she had been in Sakura. As usual, she got so engrossed in the story that she stopped paying attention to her surroundings and so it was no surprise that when someone pulled the book away from her, she was rather startled by it.

"Hey!" she cried out. "I was reading that."

"_Vessels of gods_, written by Carrie Hayes," the book-snatcher read aloud. "Is that any good?"

"I would tell you if you let me read it, Gajeel," Levy snapped. He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now, her talk with Mirajane still fresh on her mind.

"Sorry," his grin made the apology void. "I called out your name several times but you just didn't listen."

"I get like that when reading. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that."

"No time for that. I need a favour from you."

"A favour?" that made her interested. Gajeel handed her the book back and then sat down across from her, propping his elbows on the table.

"A favour," he confirmed. He then looked around. "Your watchdogs aren't here?"

"Don't call them that."

"It fits them," he argued.

"The favour," Levy prompted him, not wishing to get caught in the name-calling game.

"I need you to do some research for me. On ancient rituals of immortality."

Levy stared at him.

"Why would you be interested in that?"

"'Cause that's how Jebel survived. I figured if I found out what spell he had used, I could break it down or something and then get rid of him for good."

"Aren't you getting a little obsessed with it?"

"Everyone needs a hobby," the Iron Dragon Slayer deadpanned. Levy giggled at that.

"Okay. I'll take a look at it. Now, shoo, I want to finish this book."

"Fine. Just don't take too long. I'm not a patient guy."

"Don't I know it," she muttered, once again forgetting about his sensitive hearing.

"You know nothing yet, little bookworm," Gajeel leaned across the table, dropping his voice into a whisper. "And you better hope you'll never find out."

A week ago, she would back out. Not out of fear but because she wouldn't know what to say or do. Fortunately, that was no longer the case.

"Oh, I'm so scared," she said unconvincingly, opening her eyes in a rather good impression of fear. "Whatever shall I do? Plead for my life?"

She opened her eyes even more, getting ready to pull out the puppy look-

"You fight dirty," Gajeel accused her as he sat back.

"Just using my abilities to their best effect," Levy returned easily. He smirked at that.

"You are learning."

"Thank you," Levy nodded and turned to her book when-

"Oh, if you are done with your flirting, I would like to wipe the table."

Levy jumped up in her seat, turning around to see smiling Mirajane. The barmaid held a rag in one hand and a tray in another. She started to stack up the empty glasses upon the tray, humming to herself with that infuriating smile on her face. Levy felt her face heating up.

"We weren't flirting," she murmured defiantly.

"Really? My mistake, then."

Mirajane might have said that but her face spoke differently. Her smirk seemed to be too much for Gajeel as well, because he stood up.

"Don't forget about the favour, Levy. I'll see you later about that."

Mirajane watched him as he hurriedly left the guild building again and then she turned to crimson-faced Levy.

"My, my. You have been keeping a lot to yourself, Levy-chan. I didn't know the two of you got along that well."

Levy felt ready to bang her head on the table. How could she explain what she herself didn't understand.

"He just asked me to look up something for him," she tried to clear up things a bit.

"It didn't look like that from where I stood."

"But it's true!"

"Hmm," Mirajane put a finger to her lips before clapping her hands once. "I know. When Lucy and Erza come back, we'll have a sleepover, let Cana get you drunk and learn the truth."

Levy stared. And stared.

"That's... Mira-chan... I can't... ugh, it won't work."

"Maybe, maybe not," Mirajane said cheerfully. "We'll see, won't we?"

Levy gave into her urge from earlier and let her head fall down on the table. Why her?

* * *

Twenty miles north of Magnolia, in Oak, the former hometown of the Phantom guild, a man made his way through the evening crowd. He listened to the human sea around him, the noises of the doomed ones and those who could still be saved mingling together.

He was pushed back in his goal but that didn't matter. He would prevail again because he was a chosen one. He was stopped but he would take revenge. He would save the innocent and punish the guilty. He-

"Have you seen the latest special of Gravure? They had an article on Miss Fairy Tail contest and boy, those girls are really something. Erza, Mirajane, Lucy, all of them. And that Levy girl is sooo cute, like a real fairy."

Levy? He knew that name. It had been shouted in the battle and it had belonged to the little blue-haired girl he had wanted to save. The man walked purposely down to the cornershop. He knew the importance of not standing out and if the shop assistant was hard pressed, he might have recalled an average man in late thirties who bought a magazine.

The pages rustled until they opened up on the shot of the contestants. And standing in the middle, wearing number five on a ribbon, was her. Levy McGarden, acoording to the legend under the picture. The same blue hair, the same large brown eyes, the same innocence.

He had found her and this time, she wouldn't escape.

"Levy McGarden," he spoke the name reverently. "You'll become an angel soon. I promise."

And he caressed the glossed face gently. She would be saved. He would make sure of it.

* * *

A/N: Late update, I know. And I'm sorry but I had a rather wild weekend (beer, mead, vodka, ouzo, red wine are just a few of the things I drank) and I was glad to be glad. That happens when you go out with a group of friends who are notorious for their partying. But I had fun :D

Good news is I'm really inspired for this story, so the updates won't be late by more than a couple of days. See ya on Sunday, I hope.


	4. Of nightly visitors and a girl power

So, it seems you liked the plot. Good, more of it in here.

**Chapter 4:** Of nightly visitors and a girl power (_where Shadow Gear bonds, Levy has an eventful night and Juvia saves the day_)

* * *

Lucky Ollietta regarded one of her good friends with a barely hidden amusement.

"You look like you had a rough day," the purple-haired girl commented. Her blue-haired friend made a frustrated moan.

"You have no idea."

Levy McGarden was at the end of her tether. Okay, that might have been an exaggeration but after the inquiry Mirajane had put her through, she felt all wrung out. Her tiredness might also have had something to do with the stack of old books she was taking to the dormitory to read. Lucky had considerately offered to take some of them from her.

"What are they about?" the wood-magic user asked after failing to decipher the ancient writings on more than half of the tomes.

"Ancient magic. I'm doing a little research for a friend."

A friend. Strange that she came to think of Gajeel as such. Then again, Levy was good when it came to making new friends, even if this friend was much rougher around the edges than others.

"Couldn't you ask Jet and Droy to help you out?" Lucky panted a bit. The books were large and heavy. Levy shrugged, her load almost twice as much as Lucky carried.

"They have run off somewhere. They didn't want to tell me where so I didn't press them."

"In moments like these it would be nice to have a potential life-partner of a male persuasion."

Levy did a quick translation of Lucky's sometimes strange way of speaking.

"You mean a boyfriend?" she hazarded a guess.

"Yes. Someone strong to carry all of these for us."

"That would be nice," Levy agreed and then shared a sigh with Lucky. "Too bad we don't have any."

The girls looked at each other and giggled. It didn't make the books any lighter but it lifted their spirits a bit. They continued chatting as they walked the familiar path to the Fairy Hills, neither of them sensing the presences that were trailing after them.

The fact that Fairy Hills, a dormitory for female mages, was protected by powerful spells was a known fact. Not so known was the nature of those spells and their settings and triggers. For example, there was a magical barrier set up to activate only when a male tried to get into the dormitory uninvited and unannounced, in other words: trying to sneak in. When that happened, the barrier activated, literally throwing out the intruder.

As Levy and Lucky opened the main door, there was a loud blaring noise, like an alarm and the air around the dormitory shimmered for a moment before settling down. And outside the invisible barrier, two very unlucky mages laid in a heap. Lucky squeezed her shoulder in sympathy and slipped inside, whispering a promise of delivering the books into Levy's room. Levy closed her eyes briefly.

"Jet. Droy. Explanation. Now."

Her two friends slowly got on their feet, wearing identical sheepish expressions.

"It's not what you think, Levy."

Several mages stuck their heads out of their respective windows, trying to see what was going on.

"Everything alright down there?" Bisca called out.

"Yeah," Levy called back. "Just a little accident with protection spells."

The sniper nodded and closed her windows just in time to stop an eagle from flying out. Levy turned to Jet and Droy, who still stood outside the barrier and took mercy on them.

"Come in."

Hesitantly, they went. And the barrier didn't react at all. Seeing their expressions, Levy explained.

"It only activates when you are trying to sneak in. If you are invited, it stays dormant."

"Makes sense," Droy spoke. The girls living in the dormitory usually liked to bring guests inside. If the barrier activated for every male without exception, it would put a damper on the visits.

"Yeah. It's similar to Fried's enchantments in how the rules for an activation are written. It's really fascinating."

Levy had been growing more and more fascinated with the enchantment magic ever since she had disspelled those enchantments during the Fighting Festival. She had even entertained a thought of asking Fried to teach her some of the basic ones. It was, after all, very close to her own kind of magic. But there were other things for her to deal with at the moment.

"Is this that surprise you were talking about?" she asked pointedly.

"Listen, Levy," Jet took an initiative. "We just wanted to look after you. But you seemed pretty annoyed with us for that so we decided to do it in secret."

"Guys, it's really nice of you but-"

"You don't get it, Levy," Droy cut her off. "We have failed to protect you three times by now. Two of those times you could have died, if not for Gajeel. I still don't like the guy but he seems to be doing a better job of protecting you than the two of us. And, well..."

"We are a team, Levy," Jet took over. "And we are your friends. We just want to do our share in taking care of you. I guess we were jealous of Gajeel. We were afraid that you would replace us with him."

There, they said it. Levy listened with an open mouth. Were they really that blinded by their fear and jealousy?

"Come here, you big idiots," she said and yanked both of them into an embrace. Having one of them on each side of her, she continued to give them a tongue-lashing. "We have been best friends since we were little kids. You could never be replaced by anyone. How could you even think that? Sure, I consider Gajeel a friend now. But he's not you and you're not him. I won't pick him over you two or the other way around. It's like you were being jealous of Lucy."

"Lucy's not a guy," Droy pointed out. Levy was glad her face was hidden between the two of them so they couldn't see her blush at the insinuation.

"That's not the point here. I'm not going to fall in love with him all of a sudden. But even if I did, I would still want you for friends. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes. And we are sorry for being... like that."

"Apology accepted," Levy smiled and pulled away. And then her face turned strict again. "Now get those books. Lucky and I were forced to drag them all the way here while you were trailing me in secrecy. You can do some work at least now."

"Yes, m'am," they both almost saluted and Levy shook her head with exasperation.

"C'mon. I'll make us some tea."

* * *

So, there was a barrier protecting the building. An interesting concept of the barrier at that. But nothing insurpassable. He had already formulated a plan that was likely to succeed. All he had to do was wait for little Levy's friends to leave and the lights in the building to go out.

Kain Jebel leaned against the tree in a more comfortable position. He could wait just fine. He had done a lot of waiting in his life for far less important things. He glanced at the torn picture from the magazine.

Levy stood up so much amongst those other women. She was so innocent when compared with them. A modest lily, bright and pure. She deserved the paradise. And she would enter it tonight. Nothing would get in his way. Nothing.

It was about an hour before the two men left the building and Jebel stretched his legs, knowing he would have to wait for a while yet. The sun had gone down already but there were many lighted windows. The inhabitants of the building had yet to go to sleep and he didn't want a chance meeting in the hallway to ruin his chances.

One by one, the lights went out until there was only one left. He waited for it to wink out but after a half an hour passed, he realized that someone was probably planning on staying up late. Nothing he could do about that, he would have to risk it. Another chance like this one could be long time in coming.

Jebel stood up and walking confidently, he walked up the path that led to the main door. As he passed the barrier, he felt a tingling sensation but nothing more. So he was right. The barrier reacted only to those who tried to enter stealthily. After all, it would be pointless for the barrier to stop either friends of the people inside or someone insignificant like a delivery boy. There were probably other magical protections inside but he would deal with them as he encountered them.

The door was locked but a bit of a manipulation with a lock and he was inside easily. He set down the lobby towards the stairs, guessing correctly that living quarters were on the upper floors. And the last stroke of luck came as he realized that the doors had little nameplates on them.

_Levy McGarden _was written on the third door and he was unpleasantly surprised to realize that the only light in the building was coming from her room. Recalling the stack of books she had carried, she was most likely reading. Unfortunate. But she was so close. He couldn't turn away now, not after coming this far.

The former leader of the Approaching End put his hand on the handle and pressed it slowly down. The door wasn't locked! It must have been a sign that his decision had been correct. He pushed the door open slowly, hoping it wouldn't creak and betray his presence. It went easily, the maintenance of the place really superb.

And there she was, his blue-haired soon-to-be angel. She was sitting at her desk, her noticeable hair pulled up into a ponytail. She had glasses that kept falling down her nose as she was bent over an old book, several other books spread around her as she occasionaly checked something in them. She was totally engrossed in her work. She made it so easy for him.

* * *

Levy swore to herself as she ran into another dead end. A promising lead turned up to be nothing more than a mythical allegory, recorded by an aspiring story-teller. Talentless story-teller at that. It was a pain to read his work and Levy was tempted to throw the book across the room. But the book was innocent in this and she restrained herself.

She pushed her glasses back and leaned into her chair, letting out a yawn. Maybe she should call it a night and look at it again in the morning, fresh and res-

"Hello, Levy."

Her scream was cut short by a hand that was clamped over her mouth. She was dragged out of the chair, a couple of books falling down as the chair got unbalanced and she was spun around to face her attacker. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. Kain Jebel.

"We meet again, litle girl and this time we won't be interrupted."

Levy tried to struggle but he was bigger and stronger, his grip on her unyielding. He started dragging her towards the window. She tried to bite into his hand but was unsuccessful. He held her arms in such a way she couldn't try to scratch him or hit him. Kicking was her only option but he twisted her body around until her legs were hitting only the air.

"Stop struggling, Levy," he said angrily. "It's for your own good, can't you see that?"

"Mhmuhmhh!" she tried to scream but it was very muffled. Their progress to the window was hindered by her efforts but not much. She knew that unless she thought of something very quick, this man would finish what he had started in the forest near Sakura several days ago and kill her.

"Levy-san?" a knock on the door accompanied Juvia's voice. Juvia had a room next to her. Did she hear her scream? "Juvia heard a noise. Are you alright?"

Jebel froze and Levy got a burst of inspiration. Kicking him was fruitless but kicking something else... They were right beside one of the tables which was overflowing with books. Levy sent out a short prayer for it to work and then kicked the table with all her might.

The books shook and since they were stacked in such a precarious position, they started to tumble down. The resulting noise was enough for Juvia to open the door and enter the room.

"Levy-san?" she asked but the pause was enough for Jebel to act. He tossed Levy to the side where she landed rather painfully on the toppled books. Jebel gestured with his right hand and a hail of sharp rocks careened towards Juvia. They passed through her body without doing any real damage, since she liquified herself immediately.

"A water mage, eh?" Jebel sneered. Juvia nodded, her face set in an unusual scowl.

"You have attacked Juvia and Juvia's friends. Juvia cannot forgive that. Water slicer!"

She lashed out at him with a highly pressurized water stream, half-expecting him to block it using his earth element. He surprised her when he conjured a shimmering liquid wall.

"Lake shield!"

Her Water slicer rammed into the water wall, both liquid-based spells losing form and drenching everything in their vicinity. Levy winced from where she laid at the floor, half from the pain in her side, half from knowing the damage the water would wreak on her books.

"Didn't expect that, eh?" Jebel taunted. "I have control of all of the elements. Your measly one is no match for me."

Juvia's eyes narrowed. Time to bring out the big guns.

"Water lock!"

She got the satisfaction of seeing his face contort in anger and shock as he was engulfed in her water prison. He was thrashing around, trying to break out of it but Juvia tightened her control on the sphere, never giving him any openings to exploit. His movements slowed down as his air supply slowly ran out. And then-

"This is not over," he mouthed in Levy's direction as he put his left hand over his heart and disappeared from the bubble. The water sphere contracted inside to compensate for a sudden loss of matter and Juvia released the spell automatically, blinking several times as if to assure herself it had really happened. The shock wore off quickly, though, as she turned to help Levy who was slowly climbing to her feet.

"Are you alright, Levy-san?"

"Yes," Levy replied, the shock catching up with her finally. Juvia caught her arm as Levy's legs threatened to give up from under her. "Thank you. If you didn't come..."

"Who was that man?" Juvia asked, supporting Levy and helping her towards her overturned chair.

"Kain Jebel. He... Our team ran into him during our latest mission. He almost killed us all. But Gajeel saved us and the guy disappeared."

"So he came back for revenge?"

"I don't know," Levy shook her head helplessly. "I have no idea what he wants from me."

"Levy? Juvia?" Cana Alberona stood in the doorway and Bisca, Lucky, Miki, Mirajane, basically all of the girls living in Fairy Hills stood behind her. "What happened here? We heard some ruckus."

Levy sighed and looked to Juvia for support.

"We need to inform the Master," the water mage decided.

* * *

"This is getting serious. Levy escaped unharmed this time but we can't risk another incident like that," Makarov was rather angry. One of his children had been attacked again, a child that was universally beloved by all in the guild.

They all sat in the Fairy Tail's bar, most of the guild present despite the early hour. After sending the message to the Master, Cana had moved Levy into her own room, the rest of the girls standing guard around the room with Juvia and Cana inside with Levy. Her honour guard was present even now, surrounding Levy all the way to the guild building with the addition of Jet and Droy. Their guilt trip had been thankfully cut short by Levy who had explained that there had been really nothing they could have done to change the events of that night. Still, they hovered over her like extremely concerned mother hens.

"What I don't get is how he got inside," Cana spoke. "There are several enchantments on the building and surrounding property to prevent exactly this kind of situation. He shouldn't have been able to so much as enter the premises, never mind the building itself."

"That magic relies on the intent, Cana," Makarov explained with a sigh. "As long as your heart does not recognize your intent as evil or harmful, the magic lets you pass."

"He wanted to kill her!" Cana exploded. "How's that not harmful?"

"The bastard's really crazy," Gajeel spoke from where he was leaning against the wall. "From what I heard, he thinks he's doing people a favour by killing them. He wanted to off the bookworm back in Sakura and he probably decided to finish the job."

"That's sick," the card-user said in disgust.

"I'm not arguing with that."

"The question is: how we stop him from trying again?" Jet said into the silence that followed.

"Levy-san is welcomed to stay with Juvia. Juvia can protect her."

"That's very kind of you, Juvia-chan, but it doesn't solve the main problem," Makarov said. "The Council has assured me they are doing their best in trying to track Jebel down but their organizational structure is still shaky. That's why I want to ask all of you to keep an eye on things in Magnolia. If Levy's his target, he will come back and I want us to be ready for him."

"Of course, Master."

The things settled a bit after that. Since they had come to a decision, most of the members either went back home or to pick some jobs from the request board. Mirajane, who was taking the requests down, didn't comment on the fact that all of the accepted jobs happened to be located in Magnolia itself or in the surrounding area. Levy remained seated at the table, Jet and Droy at her sides.

Gajeel caught Juvia's eye and motioned her to come over.

"Gajeel-kun?" she asked for an explanation.

"You fought the guy. What is your opinion?"

"He's strong. Juvia would have to work hard to take him down. You want to fight him, Gajeel-kun?"

"Hell, yeah," he confirmed. "First he disappears on me before we can fight for real, then he stalks a girl like some creep and then the fucker gives you better fight than he has given me? I'm royally pissed off, Juvia."

"Has it ever occured to you that you have violent tendencies?"

Gajeel glared at her.

"Don't you start with that, too."

"If you have been told that before, it's probably true," the water mage teased.

"Tell me what kind of spells he used, that's far more useful to me."

"He boasted of being able to control all of elements but he used only earth and water against Juvia. And he was able to teleport himself out of Juvia's water lock."

"He's a coward," Gajeel said with a disdain. "Always running away. Fucking coward."

Juvia only nodded in agreement.

"What will you do now?" she asked. She knew him quite well and he wouldn't be asking all of those questions if he didn't have some kind of plan.

"I'll talk to someone first. After that, it depends on what I find out."

Following his line of sight, Juvia's eyes came to rest upon Levy. She looked back at Gajeel.

"What does Levy-san know?"

"That's what I want to find out, Juvia."

All three members of the Shadow Gear looked up when Gajeel came to them. Levy forced a weak smile.

"Hey."

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

"Alone," he specified.

Both Gajeel and Levy were rather surprised when both Jet and Droy got up without prompting.

"We'll go look at the missions," Droy told them. Gajeel stared as they left and then turned to Levy, sitting down across from her.

"What's with them?"

"We cleared the air between us," she smiled. "Now, what do you need?"

"Did you find anything on those rituals?"

"Not yet. Jebel's visit kind of interrupted my research," Levy said. "But I'll keep looking. Nothing's better incentive than having someone after your life, right?"

Gajeel nodded approvingly. Aside from being somewhat pale, she seemed to be holding up well, considering the recent events.

"How long will it take?"

"Hard to say. Anytime from a day to a week. If I don't know what kind of ritual I'm looking for or its exact results, I have to go through all of them."

"That sucks," he declared. Levy nodded.

"And you're not even the one doing the research."

"Just keep on it and let me know the moment you find it."

He stood up but before he left, Levy spoke up.

"Gajeel, I just want to thank you. For trying to take him out," she clarified at his puzzled expression. He looked away.

"I'm not doing it for you," he said in a rougher-than-usual voice. "I want to settle my score with the bastard, that's all. No need to thank me."

"But I still benefit from it, right? It's only natural that I thank you."

"Then save your thanks for when he's dead."

"Okay," Levy nodded. "I will."

With a last puzzled look in her direction, Gajeel left to talk to Makarov and Levy didn't have to wait for long for Jet and Droy to come back.

"Thank you for behaving, guys," she told them.

"We took your words yesterday to heart, Levy," Droy said.

"You were right, as usual," Jet added.

"And that's why I'm the brain of the team," she smirked. "Now, I have a research that I need to be getting back to. Let's go."

She found the ritual later on that afternoon in an ancient text dedicated to magical healing.

* * *

**A/N:** Don't you just love my cliffhangers? I do, but only because I know what's going to happen next.

Once again, sorry for the lateness. 195 had me in dumps but 196 restored me right back. Damn, Mashima, do you have to play with your readers like that?


	5. Of notes, courage and trips

We are finally getting there, people. Some secrets are revealed at last. And I believe some of you called for more fluff... Dedicated to my 50th reviewer -Dark-And-Light-Angel-Girl.

**Chapter 5**: Of notes, courage and trips (_where Jebel's secret is uncovered, Levy disappears and Gajeel sets out for his fight_)

* * *

_In those cases where it is of vital importance to ensure the continuous survival of the patient whose organs are failing, it is possible to temporarily take out those organs and supply their functions with the magical power of the healer. It is also possible to repeat the same procedure on a healthy person. In that case, the magic must be continually supplied by the person on whom the procedure has been performed, not by the healer. _

_There have been suggestions that this exchange of living tissue for a magical power could be used to gain a semblance of immortality - your heart or lungs cannot be pierced if there are no heart or lungs to be pierced - but the few cases in which it had been attempted had failed. The imbalance it creates in the body of a person, the continuous strain on the magical power of the user, the unnaturality of the immortality phenomenon itself; all of these contribute to the damage that is done to the nervous system and subsequently one's mental state. All of the mages undergoing this operation went insane within a couple of months_.

Levy closed the old book slowly. She would approach this calmly and rationally. She... ah, why not?

"Gotcha!" she cheered. Jet and Droy looked up, surprised by her outburst.

"Levy?"

"I've found what I was looking for," she explained, smiling widely. She started looking around the guild, trying to catch a sight of a certain Dragon Slayer. She had moved with her research back into the guild building. The library and records room were bigger than the ones at the dormitory and with so many people around, she felt safer as well.

She saw Juvia talking to Mirajane. Levy had decided to accept the water mage's offer of staying with her until the situation was resolved. She hated the fact that she was too weak to protect herself but there wasn't much she could do about it. She also realized how lucky she was to belong to Fairy Tail where problems of one mage were problems of all of them.

Gajeel was coming out from the records room, flipping through a folder when Levy finally spotted him. Grabbing the book, she stood up and made a beeline for him. Thrusting the book under his nose, she could barely contain her glee.

"I found it!" she declared. "I was just cross-checking on something else when I came upon this passage and it all fits together. I'm sure that this is it."

Gajeel took a step back. Enthusiastic Levy was a force to be reckoned with.

"Good," he said. "Mind telling me what is it you found?"

She blinked up at him before flushing as she realized she had been so caught up in her discovery she hadn't told him what she had found.

"The immortality ritual. Look," she dragged him over to the closest table, setting down the book and pointing at the two paragraphs in question. "See? It fits perfectly. And it's not really an immortality ritual but it explains everything and..." she trailed off at his weird expression. "Gajeel?"

"Levy," his voice was a wonderful example of a strained patience. "It's in some strange gibberish. I can't make out a single word, never mind the whole sentence."

"Oh," Levy looked down. "It's in ancient Thule. I forgot there are not many people who can read that."

"So would you care to translate?"

She did so, trying to stay as close to the original meaning as possible. A really frightening grin spread across Gajeel's face as she finished.

"It means all I have to do is make him run out of magic, right?"

"Uhm, not really."

"But you said-"

"It continues: _The organs that have been taken out remain in stasis so they are available after the procedure is no longer necessary. Several safeguards are implemented to ensure that the patient's health is not endangered should the healer run out of magical power. The same safeguards apply to the healthy mages as well." _

"You mean to tell me that bastard has his heart hidden somewhere?"

Levy wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It is possible."

"Shit!" the Iron Dragon Slayer cursed. "It just keeps getting better and better. He better be worth the trouble once I catch up with him."

"Do you want me to keep looking for other rituals?" Levy asked. Gajeel was lost in thought and didn't seem to register her question so she repeated it.

"Nah. It's as you said - this one fits the situation the best."

"What will you do now?"

"A research of my own," he replied. "I've got a plan but I need to straighten out some details. Anyway, thanks for finding this," he gestured to the book. "Are you staying with Juvia?"

"Yes," was her surprised answer. How did he know?

"Good. I'll talk to you later then."

He raised one hand in a wave and taking the folder with him, he went back into the records room. Levy shrugged. If he didn't want to talk about his plans, who was she to force him? Taking the book back, she looked at the stacks of other tomes she had left at her table and sighed. Time to go and return them to the library.

* * *

Juvia's room was rather spacious when compared to hers. Or it might have something to do with a distinct lack of towering heaps of books of all kinds. Juvia herself was playing a gracious host, offering her tea (Earl Gray) and quickly hiding a plushie of Gray that had sat on the couch before.

"You can sleep on the bed and Juvia will take the couch."

"No, no. I'm already imposing," Levy protested. "I'll take the couch."

"But you are my guest."

"Couch is fine," Levy assured the water mage. "I'm shorter than you, I'll fit better on it."

"If you are sure," Juvia relented. Levy nodded. An awkward silence descended and Levy realized that until the last night she had barely spoken to the other woman. They lived in the same building, even had neighbouring rooms but she knew nothing about the person who had saved her life.

"Juvia-san?" she decided to make the first step. After all, if she could befriend Gajeel, Juvia would be a piece of cake. "Tell me about yourself. That is," she hurriedly added, "only if you don't mind. I'd like to get to know you better."

"You want to be Juvia's friend?" the eyes of the S-class mage started to shimmer.

"Yes, I'd like that," Levy hurried to assure her. Juvia blinked to suppress her tears.

"Everyone in Fairy Tail is so kind to Juvia. Juvia would be happy to become your friend, Levy-san."

"Levy-chan for friends," the younger girl corrected her. The water mage smiled.

"Juvia is Juvia for friends."

They shared a smile as the ice was broken. Levy had a gift to befriend people quickly and Juvia proved to be an interesting person. Her crush on Gray aside, she was well-traveled and educated. Talking with her helped Levy to forget the circumstances that had brought them together like this. Just as she was contemplating asking about how exactly Juvia knew that Gray was the right man for her (the water user was adamant on that point), a sharp knock on the window interrupted their conversation.

Juvia stood up, gesturing for Levy to get behind her. The book-loving girl obeyed instantly. Another knock sounded.

"Oi, Juvia, open up."

The girls exchanged glances.

"Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked disbelievingly.

"Who else?"

The water mage approached the window, unlatching the hook and letting in a disgruntled Dragon Slayer.

"About time."

"We had to make sure it was the right person," Juvia explained.

"Jebel won't be able to approach this place. The old geezer added several new layers of protection spells today," the Dragon Slayer commented. Levy noticed he was holding the folder from the afternoon.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Glad you asked," Gajeel smirked. "This is all I could find about Jebel before he went crazy."

He dropped the folder on the table, upsetting the china left after the tea. Juvia quickly collected the empty cups, carrying them off. Levy, meanwhile, approached Gajeel who was pointing at something in the file.

"See here? His last long stay was in a town called Giku, by the border. Shortly after he came back from that mission, he left the guild and started the whole saviour business."

"So what?" Levy didn't understand what he was getting at.

"And here I thought you were smart," Gajeel smirked. Before she could take offense, he added. "That's where his heart must be located."

Levy blinked at his leap of logic.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Simple. The mission took six months. He went crazy shortly after coming back. And I don't know about you, but if I had my heart cut out and replaced with magic, I wouldn't carry it around in a jar. I would hide it somewhere. And what better place than the one where the ritual was done?"

"It could be," Levy agreed. She stared at the file for a moment longer. "But why are you showing it to me?"

Gajeel grinned.

"'Cause I'm leaving for Giku tonight and you're coming with me."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, bookworm. I need you along, otherwise I wouldn't ask."

Setting aside the warm feeling at being needed by him, Levy focused on her irritation with him.

"You didn't ask me."

"Sure, I did."

"That wasn't asking, Gajeel. Asking involves saying a question and waiting for a reply," she glared at him. He withstood it easily before humouring her.

"Fine, fine. Will you come with me to Giku? There, I asked properly."

Levy pursed her lips.

"Why do you need me?"

"Geez, are you that slow today?" Gajeel stabbed his finger into the paper. "The fucktard must have left some traps behind and you're better at such things. Enchantments and old spells and all that stuff, right?"

"Well, yes," Levy hesitated. "What's the hurry?"

"You gave the same information to the old man, right? About what you found in that old book? He will send the information to the Council and I'll be damned if I let them catch Jebel instead of me."

"Couldn't you work with the Council on that?"

The look he gave her clearly spoke about what he thought of the Council and their enforcers.

"Gajeel-kun doesn't work well with the others," Juvia - who appeared behind them silently as a ghost - said calmly. She held out a cup to Gajeel. "Tea?"

"No," he refused before focusing on Levy. "Besides, doesn't this whole situation bother you?"

"The fact that a dangerous fanatic is after my life? Of course it bothers me. But what can I do about it?"

Even as she was saying those words, she knew he had her exactly where he wanted.

"You can come along and help me."

"Fine, fine. I'll go with you," Levy gave up. "Just give me some time to pack my things."

"Hurry up. I want to catch the last train."

Juvia followed her out of the room and to the neighbouring one. Levy, who hadn't been there since the last night (Jet and Droy had brought her the books for her research), winced at the state of some of the books that had been caught in the crossfire. She would have to have them replaced due to the damages they had sustained.

"Gajeel-kun means well," Juvia spoke up as Levy pulled out her bag. "He's just..." she trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Socially inept?" Levy offered.

"Yes. He cares for the others, he just doesn't know how to show it."

"I realized that much," Levy said as she tossed the toiletry bag into a larger pack. She deliberated over two books and finally decided on the _Multi-lingual Dictionary of Ancient Languages_. As an afterthought, she put in _Basic Protection Spells _and _Trapping the Unwary_, as well. If there were traps left behind, she would have better chance at discovering or avoiding them with those.

"You like Gajeel-kun, don't you?"

Levy congratulated herself for being able to reply as composedly as she did.

"Of course, he's my friend."

"Juvia is glad to hear that," Juvia spoke. "He has always been trying to keep others away from him, back when we were in Phantom Lord. When Juvia asked him to join Fairy Tail with her, Juvia hoped it would change."

"And did it?" Levy asked curiously. Juvia had grounds to compare Gajeel's behaviour both back then and at the present, Levy didn't.

"Yes," the water mage smiled. "It did. Juvia thinks Gajeel-kun is more happy now."

"More happy," Levy murmured. It was very hard to think of the disgruntled Dragon Slayer in the next room as being a happy person. Then again, everyone showed their happiness in a different way so she should probably take Juvia's word for that.

"Oi, what's taking you so long?" the Iron Dragon Slayer appeared in the doorway. Levy lifted her back and slung it over her shoulder.

"I'm ready."

Juvia cleared her throat pointedly, glancing at Gajeel expectantly.

"Ah," Gajeel handed her a piece of paper. "Give this to the old man. I wrote it to explain the situation."

Juvia took the note without comment but she kept staring at him.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"Juvia?" Levy looked between the two former Phantom Lord members. Juvia kept looking at Gajeel before flicking her eyes pointedly in Levy's direction. Gajeel seemed to have finally gotten her message because he groaned.

"You aren't serious."

"It's called manners, Gajeel-kun," Juvia replied.

"Fine," the Iron Dragon Slayer stalked over to Levy and snatched the bag from her before she could so much as protest. "Shit! What the hell did you pack in it? Bricks? It's heavier than mine," he grumbled as he tossed it over his shoulder.

"It's not necessary," Levy tried to protest but Juvia shook her head.

"Gajeel-kun is strong and he should show his gratitude to you for accompanying him. Carrying your bag is the least he can do."

Levy looked at Gajeel. He was still mumbling to himself, the only words she caught were _goddamn_, _conspiracy_, _female_, _PMSing_ and _ice moron_. Deciding she was really better off not knowing, she merely smiled, trying to convey her own gratitude to him. He didn't really notice so she turned to Juvia, surprising the water mage with an impulsive hug.

"Thank you, Juvia. Please, tell Jet and Droy where I went, so they wouldn't worry."

"Juvia will tell them. Take care, Levy-chan. You too, Gajeel-kun."

Gajeel lifted one hand in a half-wave before briskly walking off down the stairs, Levy right behind him. Juvia smiled to herself and looked at the note. Unfolding it, she read over the brief contents and couldn't help but chuckle at it. Only Gajeel-kun...

* * *

Gajeel really had had to plan it all out because when they arrived at the train station - after a brief stop to collect his things - two tickets waited for them for the overnight express train to Akamomo where they would change trains to Giku. Gajeel was even thoughtful enough to reserve the tickets for a sleeping carriage. Given it was almost eleven p.m. and Levy hadn't had a wink of sleep since two days ago, she was ready to drop down on the nearest flat surface and nod off. Being offered relatively comfortable cot with a pillow and a blanket equaled heaven to her tired mind.

Gajeel kept silent all the way to the station and even after they had put their things away in their compartment. Levy finally had enough of it and after pulling out her pajamas and readying it on her bunk, she tried to break the silence.

"So, what is the plan for when we arrive to Giku?"

"We will look for the place where Jebel had stayed and take it from there."

"Is that all?" Levy asked unbelievingly.

"Hey, we can't really make any plans until we know what it looks like in Giku."

"So, we'll be playing it by ear," Levy sighed. Great. She should have known better than let him plan all of it. But wait! Until an hour ago, she wasn't even aware she was going. "Good thing you are so strong," she muttered.

"And why's that?" he asked, looking amused.

"Because your planning sucks."

He raised one pierced eyebrow at that.

"Language, bookworm, language."

Levy huffed and crossed her arms.

"You are one to talk."

Gajeel stared at her before chuckling.

"Just my luck," he commented. At her inquisitive stare, he deigned to explain himself. "The second time we are to share a room and you are once again tired and cranky."

Levy opened her mouth to argue, realized she would only prove his point and closed it again. Then the whole meaning of his statement dawned on her and she decided to choose a better part of valour and bolted for a miniature bathroom with her pajamas, hoping against hope he didn't notice her bright blush.

"Your fault for dragging me along!" she called out from the safety of the small room.

"It's a long journey, I need some entertainment."

"I'm not even going to answer that one," she shot back, changing quickly. She heard him chuckle again but he was otherwise silent. Splashing some water on her face and reassuring herself the blush had faded somewhat, she reentered the compartment. She was surprised to see him sitting on his bunk and not lurking behind the door like back in Sakura.

"What? Something on my face?" he asked when she stared at him for a while. Levy shook her head to dispel her memories.

"Nothing," she pulled back the covers and slipped into the makeshift bed. "I'm just tired as you said. Good night."

"'Night."

Levy closed her eyes and let the movement of the train lull her into sleep.

* * *

_She was reading her new book in the park. Jet and Droy had gone to get some refreshments and she was enjoying a moment alone. She turned the page, pushed her glasses up her nose again and- _

_"Hello, Levy." _

_She screamed. She recognized the voice that spoke. But he was gone, wasn't he? She and Gajeel had gone to Giku and took care of him, didn't they? She got up to her feet, prepared to run but his hand landed on her shoulder, arresting her in place. Levy moved violently, trying to dislodge the hand but he held her firmly and was shaking her, repeating her name. _

_"Levy! Levy!_ Oi, bookworm! Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and the first thing she noticed was Gajeel's slightly concerned face directly above her.

"G-gajeel?"

He stopped shaking her and leaned away, though his hand was still on her shoulder.

"You screamed in your sleep and then you started to toss around. What's wrong?"

Levy looked away.

"I had a nightmare," she admitted shamefully. "I dreamed that Jebel came back for me."

"Hmm, good thing I took you along."

Whatever she had expected from him, that was not it.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to do your part in getting rid of him. That's the best way to conquer your fear."

She blinked a couple of times.

"Conquer my fears? But I can't. I'm not a brave girl like Lu-chan or Erza. I'm just... me," she finished.

"Hmmpf," the Iron Dragon Slayer snorted and returned to his bed. "Pretty low self-esteem you get there. Bunny girl and Titania are crazy witches. You are normal and I know for sure you're no coward."

That intrigued her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked her instead of answering.

"No," there was no hesitation in her voice and he smirked.

"Yet half of the guild still do and I haven't done to them what I did to you. But you're not afraid of me. Why do you think it's so?"

"Because I know you better now," Levy replied. Thinking over it more, she finally saw what he had meant. "I was afraid of you at first but as I got to know you, my fear disappeared. I conquered it by realizing that I have nothing more to fear," she finished excitedly.

"I wouldn't put it that way but basically, you are right," Gajeel admitted. "Now get to sleep."

Levy didn't move.

"I can't. If I have a nightmare, I'm not able to sleep for the rest of the night unless-" she stopped abruptly. She was not going to tell him that little tidbit.

"Unless what?"

Too late for that. Levy blushed in embarassment but he had done his best to cheer her up, the least she could do was being honest with him.

"Unless I hold on to something," she confessed in a low voice.

"Hold on to something?" he repeated after her.

"Back in my room, I have this old plushie that I pull out after a bad dream and I hold on to it for the rest of the night."

"You didn't take it along, I guess."

"No."

There was a silence and as it stretched, Levy tried to fight off the idea that kept invading her mind. She could ask him to hold-

"Must it be that plushie?" Gajeel interrupted her thoughts.

"No," and the thoughts were back. Really, what would be the harm? Aside from him possibly getting a wrong idea, that is. But she trusted him, didn't she? Should she ask?

Something soft landed on her lap. Levy looked up at Gajeel and then looked back at the pillow that he had tossed at her.

"Hold on to this," he advised.

"Gajeel, I-"

"Don't get all sentimental on me. This is as nice as I'm going to get, so you better appreciate that."

_I do, Gajeel, trust me, I do_ she wanted to say but finally settled for a quiet

"Thank you."

Snuggling the pillow closer to herself, Levy let her mind drift away but not before dwelling on a certain Dragon Slayer for a moment or two.

* * *

The early morning in Fairy Tail was interrupted when panicked Jet and Droy ran into the guild, shouting for Levy.

"What's this all about?" Mirajane asked.

"Levy's gone!"

"What did you say?" the white-haired barmaid repeated unbelievingly.

"She's gone. Juvia left alone and we thought Levy was sleeping in but then Cana and other girls left too and Levy didn't and we knew the others wouldn't leave her alone so-" Jet took a deep breath while Droy finished for him.

"-so we checked her room and her bag was gone and we asked the girls and they don't know anything and so we are looking for the Master."

As if on clue, Makarov entered the guild, Juvia at his side. Makarov was reading a slip of paper over and over and shaking his head.

"Out of all impatient, hot-headed mages-" spotting the two thirds of Shadow Gear and Mirajane, all of them in a state of distress, he swore softly under his breath. "Couldn't wait 'til morning, could he?"

"You know how he is, Master," Juvia soothed him.

"Yeah, I know. Jet! Droy! Mira-chan!" the guildmaster raised his voice to be heard over the usual morning din. "Come here."

They obeyed but as the speed-user and plant-user prepared to launch into an account of Levy's mysterious disappearing, Makarov stopped them.

"I know already," tossing the note to Mirajane, he sighed. "This is an explanation."

Crowding around the note, they read these words: _Found Jebel's weakness. Went to take care of him. Took Levy along. Be back in a week. Gajeel. _

Mirajane burst out laughing.

* * *

**A/N:** Fluffy enough for you? Slightly longer to make up for the absence. I ran into a nasty writer's block last week, sorry for that. In other news, I picked up Rave Master and fell utterly and completely in love with Sieg Hart, which did wonders for my writer's block, btw. I ship him with Reina, FYI and I started a chaptered fic for them. Check it out if you're interested. I also finished a kind of a crossover of FT and Rave with Jellal as a main character. Well, self-promotion over, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See ya.


	6. Of rundown towns and guild colleagues

No way! It can't be! Mirime updated the sixth chapter, thus breaking her five chapter curse :). I could make a lot of excuses but I'll point out just one thing because it has a direct impact on the plot of the story. The recent manga arc screwed up my Unleashed saga completely and Magnetism is a kind of a prologue to that so I had to deliberate whether to continue as I planned to or to conform to the manga. In the end, I decided to stick to my original plans and this fic and the sequel are now officially AU. This chapter in itself is more of a filler, though it sets up some events that are gonna be important later on and of course, some important character development is going on as well. We want Gajeel and Levy closer to each other, ne? Well, long A/N over, let's get on with it, shall we?

* * *

**Chapter 6:** Of run-down towns and guild colleagues (_where Levy finds out that the saying "diamonds in a rough" is true and a certain friendly person introduces himself to Gajeel_)

* * *

Levy gazed at the town spreading in front of her, searching for the words to describe the sight on display.

"Man! What a dump."

And that was Gajeel, effectively summing up her thoughts on Giku. The town could barely be called that. It was small and run-down and most of the buildings were old with some of them practically falling apart.

"It looks rather... desolate," Levy agreed. The region where Giku was located used to be a major crossing point for people wanting to travel out of Fiore. But then the new roads had been built, closer to the more populated areas and Giku slowly fell into an obscurity, ousted out of its position by the other towns.

"Still, it should make it easier to search it."

Levy nodded. They were the only two people who got off the train in the town. Even the conductor looked at them as if they were crazy. Then again, it might have been Gajeel's looks and the stark contrast between the two of them. Levy no longer realized just how scary Gajeel might appear to ordinary people. She was used to him.

"Will we start searching tonight?" she asked as she reached for her bag but he got there first.

"Nah. It's too late for that. But we can check the records in the town hall."

Gajeel slung both of their bags over his shoulder easily and started walking down the main street.

"Maybe we should drop off our things at a hotel first," Levy suggested as she tried her best to match his pace. Gajeel glanced down at her and slowed down a bit, looking at the buildings they were passing.

"If they even have such a thing," the Iron Dragon Slayer muttered when they were already past the town hall and there was still no sign of even an inn, never mind a hotel.

"There must be something, the town's not so-" Levy stopped abruptly, her eyes and mouth opening wide as she stared to the side. Gajeel looked over to see what had caught her attention and almost groaned. A bookstore. A dusty, run-down, smelling of an old leather and paper, ancient books selling, genuine bookstore. And Levy eyed it like he would eye an extremely tasty piece of a high-quality iron.

"Levy?" he asked after she did nothing for a couple of moments. "Hey, bookworm. We're looking for a hotel, remember?"

Levy took a small step toward the window, acting as if in a trance.

"First edition of Dominus Anulis. Do you know how rare it is?"

She stared at the leatherbound book with an almost besotted expression and Gajeel had a sudden urge to take a step back. There was something almost psychotic about her whole demeanor. She looked totally taken in with the old tome.

"Bookworm?" he spoke as one would to a skitterish wild animal. "The shop's closed. You can't get it now."

Her shoulders slumped and she turned away. Gajeel relaxed, prematurely, as it turned out.

"Can we go back first thing in the morning?"

"No fucking way! We're here for a purpose or did the book make you forget that?"

Levy glanced over her shoulder at the coveted tome. Gajeel was seriously creeped out. He knew she was into books. Hell, he called her a bookworm half of the time. But this, this bordered on a psychosis. Realizing they could stand there the rest of the day and even night if he didn't do something, he reached for her arm and grasped her elbow.

"C'mon. We'll find that hotel, drop off our things and check the records in the town hall."

He dragged her along as she glanced longingly at the shopping window. She wasn't digging in her heels but it was clear she went less than willingly. It took some time for Gajeel to realize just how weird it had to look to the bystanders. A large, scary man dragging a small, cute girl behind him. There were whispers, there were quickly averted glances. Except for one man.

Gajeel was a Dragon Slayer. His senses were superior to an ordinary human's. Not just the regular five senses but also the elusive so-called sixth sense. He always knew if someone was watching him. It was a necessary part of survival. So he quickly became aware of someone in the crowd observing him. And not with a mixture of fear and curiousity like the rest of the people but rather with a surprise.

Gajeel stopped and Levy bumped into him.

"What happened?" she asked, peering at his face. He was looking around, studying faces and ... was his nose twitching? "Gajeel? Is something wrong?"

"There's someone watching us," he replied absentmindedly and so missed her shiver.

"Jebel?" she whispered. Gajeel shook his head.

"Nah, there ain't his scent. It's someone else."

Levy looked around but none of the people around appeared to be watching them. Quite the opposite. They were avoiding looking at them. Or rather, they were avoiding looking at Gajeel.

"I think you are scaring the people," she spoke. Gajeel didn't reply. He was focused on someone standing some fifty feet down the street. The someone in question was a young man in his mid twenties, Levy guessed. All she could recognize at this distance was his dark hair and the fact that he appeared to be staring at Gajeel and Gajeel stared right back.

"Gajeel?" she prompted. When he didn't react, she waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Fiore to Gajeel."

He jerked and looked down at her.

"What?"

"Do you know him?" she asked, pointing at the man only to find out he was already gone. "Oh."

"No," Gajeel was frowning. "I've never seen him before."

"Do you think he's going to be a problem?"

"Not really," the Iron Dragon Slayer replied and started walking again. "Probably just some punk."

"Okay," Levy decided to take his word for that. But the incident had reminded her that their trip was not a vacation. They had a task to do in the town.

"You seriously crept me out," Gajeel said to her conversationally. Levy blinked. And again.

"How in the world could I creep you out?"

"You stared at that book as if you wanted to eat it."

Levy blushed.

"Well, sorry for liking books."

"What's so rare about it, anyway?"

Levy stopped and gaped at him incredulously.

"Are you serious? Dominus Anulis is THE book. Sixty years ago, it defined the magical adventure genre. Magical artifacts of an incredible power, a group of unlikely companions on a long journey to save the world, epic battles, great sacrifices, friendship and loyalty overcoming terrible odds, it has it all. The book has been republished almost fifty times, translated into all of the world languages and- are you laughing at me?"

Gajeel patted her head, messing up her hair.

"Sure am, bookworm," he said fondly. "Tell you what. Once we are done with Jebel, we'll get you that book. Deal?"

Even with his reflexes, he was unprepared for the blue-haired missile that launched herself at him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Erm, yeah, you're welcome," Gajeel said, slightly uncomfortable with the affection. "You can let go now."

"Oh," Levy seemed to realize just what she was doing and quickly stepped away. "Sorry for that, I just-"

"Really love books, yeah, I know. So, we were lookin' for a hotel?"

"Um, yes."

The silence was awkward, to say the least. Both of them kept their eyes on the opposite sides of the street, neither wanting to look at the other. Levy was sure she would blush again and Gajeel had no idea how to deal with her friendly mannerisms. She had hugged him! The big, scary Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel Redfox had been hugged by a girl that had used to be scared to death of him. Sure, he had teased her several times by now but it was always him who was in control so that he could keep his distance. It wouldn't be worth it to befriend the girl, not when the situation with Raven Tail was what it was.

Sooner or later, Ivan would want him to join him openly and he would have to go if Fairy Tail were to stand a chance later on. He would have to betray his guild on the outside and he knew that any attachments he might form would make it harder for him. But Levy was already close to being his friend. She was fun to tease, her mind was several leagues above his own and she was a brave little thing, too.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he grinned to himself. She was also easy on the eye. She might not have been as well-endowed as the other women in the guild but what she had fit her well.

"What are you looking at?"

Crap, she noticed him staring. Luckily for Gajeel, there was a building behind her.

"The hotel," he said. Levy turned and looked at the small, two-storey building with a sign proclaiming it as Hotel Chrysanthemum.

"Finally," she sighed. "I was starting to worry we would have to rough it in the woods."

"What, worried about loosin' your beauty sleep?" Gajeel jibed at her as he opened the door that led into a small hall with a reception desk.

"Something like that, yes."

There was no way Levy was telling him of her fear of the dark. He would either laugh at her outright or would try and scare her later on. He could be surprisingly childish sometimes.

Gajeel dropped their bags by the reception desk, ringing a small bell. Less than twenty seconds later, a small man scuttled out of the back door, looking at his new customers.

"May I help you?" he inquired, his voice quivering a bit as he looked Gajeel over.

"We want one room with two beds," Gajeel said, curious if Levy would object to sharing a room again but she seemed relieved by his choice. Of course she wouldn't want to be left alone.

"Of course, Mr. erm-"

"Redfox."

"Yes, Redfox. And your friend?" there was a questioning lilt in his voice as if he wasn't quite sure what to address Levy as.

"McGarden," she supplied and then added, "We are mages from Fairy Tail."

The receptionist's gaze went to Gajeel's shoulder and the prominently displayed guild mark and he nodded.

"I see. How long will you be staying?"

Levy looked at Gajeel.

"Three nights for now. We can prolong the stay later, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course," the man was quickly putting down their information in a large ledger. "If you could sign your names here."

They put down their names and recived a key in return.

"Have a nice stay," the man wished them as he disappeared into the back room again.

"Thanks," Levy called out.

* * *

Their room was on the first floor, with an attached bathroom with a shower. Gajeel took the bed closer to a window while Levy unpacked her books on the table.

"Are we going to the town hall tonight?" she asked as she put down _Multi-lingual Dictionary of Ancient Languages_.

Gajeel glanced out of the window. The sun was setting and he very much doubted that the town hall or the archives in this dump would still be open.

"We'll leave that for tommorrow," he decided. "We'll start in a morning in the archives."

"Okay. I'm going to take a shower then," she took a step towards the bathroom before whirling on him. "And no funny tricks like last time, you hear me?"

Gajeel grinned lazily.

"I'm not promisin' a thing."

"Oh, you," Levy huffed and slammed the door behind herself. The walls and the door itself were thin enough that she still heard his laugh. Why had she even brought that up? All she did was embarrass herself. It seemed that was all she did around Gajeel. "Stupid, teasing, Dragon Slayer."

She didn't linger in a shower for long, dressing up in her pajamas and then cautiously cracking open the door. Gajeel was sitting on his bed, watching the door. Upon seeing her head poke out, he smirked.

"Boo," he said and Levy marched out, tossing her wet towel into his face.

"Oh, stop laughing."

"Why should I? You're too easy to tease."

"Just get in the shower, you stink."

Gajeel raised one pierced eyebrow and then took several sniffs.

"Nope, I don't," he said. "You must be hallucinating."

With her attempt at embarassing him backfiring, Levy grabbed a book from the table and curled up on her bed, burying her blush among the pages of _Trapping the Unwary_. She heard he bathroom door close and slowly relaxed, stretching up on her side, her back to the window. Within minutes, she was engrossed in the magical theory and so she didn't hear the window open. She just slapped her hand at the mosquito that bit at her neck, falling asleep quickly afterwards.

* * *

Gajeel couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It was too quiet as he stopped the water and stepped out of the shower cubicle. Pricking his ears as he toweled off, he could hear Levy's even breathing and it calmed him down. She was still in the room, probably reading. But he couldn't hear her turning the pages and-

Gajeel quickly put on his pants and burst out of the room, his eyes touching upon Levy's still form and then focusing on a silent figure that was standing by the window. A second later, his right arm was transformed into a blade and he lunged after the enemy.

A burst of magic and his arm was forced back, his own momentum spinning him around.

"Calm down, Gajeel-san," the figure spoke up. "I mean no harm."

"Who the hell are you?" Gajeel snarled, crouching slightly as he eyed his opponent. The man took a step closer and Gajeel recognized the "punk" from the afternoon. The one that had stared at him.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Gajeel-san. My name is Stanislav Yutka and we have some common acquaintances," the man raised his right arm, turning his palm towards Gajeel. There was a guild symbol imprinted on his palm. A stylized silhouette of a raven with a single feather falling from its tail. The Raven Tail guild mark. "I'm pleased to meet you at last, Gajeel-san, as a fellow guild member."

Gajeel straightened up slowly. What the hell was going on?

"Did Master Ivan send you?" he immediately asked the worst scenario question.

"Oh no, not at all. This is all a big coincidence," Stanislav smiled winningly. "I was merely passing through when I happened to see you and your... companion."

Both of them glanced at Levy and Gajeel had to suppress a growl that threatened to rip out of his mouth.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing lasting, merely a mild sedative so that we could talk without interruptions."

Gajeel's eyes lingered on Levy, noting her deep even breaths. She appeared to be sleeping.

"Fine," Gajeel said. "Talk."

"Not very social, are you? Master Ivan mentioned it."

The Iron Dragon Slayer clenched his fists.

"You got a point?"

"Not really, I just wanted to meet my new partner," Stanislav cocked his head, studying Gajeel. "I have to say, rumours don't do you justice."

Gajeel ignored it, more focused on the new bit of info.

"Partner?"

"Yes, Master Ivan plans for us to work together once you stop playing around with the fairies."

"Funny," Gajeel deadpanned. "It's the first time I heard of that plan."

"Master Ivan said you are doing some kind of revenge business and that he would tell you once you are done," with one eyebrow arched, Stanislav looked over at Levy. "I must say, I didn't take you for the type to combine pleasure with business. Then again, the girl's a little fairy, indeed. I can understand the temptation."

Gajeel barely held himself back from punching in the smug bastard's face. Only reminding himself that that would blow his cover stayed his fist.

"So what? I signed up to be a spy, not celibate," he snarled callously.

"Of course, Gajeel-san, I meant no disrespect. To each his own, as they say. Whatever you do in your free time is your business, as long as you remember the bigger picture."

The bigger picture. That was all that Ivan talked about and Gajeel was getting sick of it.

"As I said to Master Ivan, I'm always thinkin' of the bigger picture."

"Good. Because from what I was told, we'll be making our move soon. So be ready for that," Stanislav moved towards the window but Gajeel called out to him.

"What's your magic?"

Stanislav half-turned back to Gajeel, smiling slightly.

"Quite similar to yours, actually. I manipulate iron and steel through magnetic powers, though. I call my magic Magnetism," the mage nodded his head in goodbye. "See you soon, Gajeel-san. Have fun while you can."

And with that parting shot, he jumped out the window. Gajeel remained standing in his spot before a movement from behind caught his attention. Levy rolled around, still sleeping, blissfully unaware of what had just transpired.

"I swear, bookworm, you are more trouble than you're worth."

A soft snore was Gajeel's only answer.

* * *

**A/N:** So, fillerish, as I said. I know. I'm not making any promises for next update because that makes me jinx myself but I will finish this fic, I promise. The problem is that I might be venturing into DBZ fandom and writing some fics for that to get rid of the damn plot-bunnies but I won't abandon FT either. I'm working slowly, but surely. Keep your faith in me.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited or alerted this fic. I love you all.

P.S.: Bonus points to anyone who identifies the book that Levy went gaga over. It is a real one :D


End file.
